Burgundy Wine News 2012

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THE SAINT-VINCENT TOURNANTE FESTIVAL 2012

Burgundy has put in an application called 'Climats', the preservation of the 'terroir', to be included as a UNESCO world heritage site. “The 68th edition of the St. Vincent Festival is dedicated to the “Climats” of Burgundy: traditional, dynamic, cultural and diverse.”

The “Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin” brotherhood has surprised everyone by announcing that the Saint-Vincent festival 2012 would take place simultaneously in three towns: Dijon, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Beaune.
On the programme: tastings on the topic “Burgundy’s "Climats”” and events/discoveries in key locations in these three wine-related towns. The 2012 Saint-Vincent festival will take place on 28 and 29 January.

Diary Dates

21 January: Saint-Vincent des Grumeurs in Santenay (21). Wine tastings and events. 21 January: Chablis wines competition.

22 January: Saint-Vincent de Mercurey (71). Banquet and tastings.22 January: Saint-Vincent de Montagny in Buxy (71)

21 and 22 January: Beaune white and red in Beaune (21). Mini tasting fair and Saint-Vincent festivities 22 January: Aux Amis de Chitry (89). Tasting, meeting the winegrowers.

28 & 29 January: Saint-Vincent Tournante festival of the Burgundy “Climats” in Dijon, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Beaune (21)28 January: “The winegrower’s table” in Pommard (21) Banquet

28 January: Goutaillon de la Cousinerie de Bourgogne, in Savigny-lès-Beaune (21). Banquet

4 & 5 February: Saint-Vincent Tournante of the Chablisien in Courgis

NEW: APPELLATION COTEAUX BOURGUIGNONS

The INAO (Institute of appellations) has approved the recognition of the appellation Coteaux Bourguignons. The appearance of the decree in the Official Journal has been effective since 24 November. Rewriting the specifications for the original appellations was the opportunity to reconstruct an introductory appellation which is good value for money. Consumers will be able to buy the first bottles of the AOC Coteaux Bourguignons, 2011 vintage, from the spring of 2012. This appellation can be produced across the Grande Bourgogne region, from Auxerrois to Beaujolais. The aim is to make a carefully-chosen appellation rather than a fallback appellation, specifically designating certain plots. In this way the vines will be worked throughout the year with a view to producing Coteaux Bourguignons. It will eventually replace the AOC Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire.

Get a new life

If you need to get out of the rat race and have a complete change of lifestyle, here is the opportunity. David and Lynne Hammond have been running their wine tour business, centred around Beaune, very successfully for ten years and are now looking to move on to start another wine related business in Burgundy. If you want to turn your passion for wine into a business and enjoy a complete change of lifestyle, read David’s article.

protecting wine from fraudsters

With the price of good wine rising all the time, it is ever more important for an investor to know that the wine in the bottle is actually what the label says it is. French wine houses are having to use increasingly clever technology to meet this requirement. In Bordeaux, Château Margaux is using laser technology to etch codes in the glass, and there is an ingenious method from prooftag.com whereby random patterns of bubbles appear on a plastic film and make a seal between the bottle top and the glass. Even nuclear pulses are being used for old wines. For more on all this tech, see the report on the BBC Click programme.

MAPS AND DOCUMENTATION: BURGUNDY WINES IN TRANSLATION

Widely exported for several centuries, Burgundy wines are continuing to broaden their horizons. In response to interest from wine lovers all around the world, the Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB) translates the documents it publishes into a number of languages.

The general map of the Burgundy vineyard has been made available in English, German, Japanese, Chinese, Danish, Korean, Swedish and Russian.

Two other information documents have been translated: the “Passport to Burgundy Wines” and “The Art of Wine Tasting”. They are available in English (paper version or web download), in German and Chinese (web download). Japanese and Korean versions are in preparation.

“VINS ET TOURISME EN BOURGOGNE” APP for SMARTPHONEs

The application “Vins et Tourisme en Bourgogne”, produced by Proxima Mobile Bourgogne, was officially launched on 2 December. Intended for use on smartphones (iPhone, Android, etc.), it operates via geo-positioning. Tourists will be able to use it to obtain all kinds of information on the appellations they visit (maps, statistics, descriptions, etc.) as they make their way through the vineyard. They can also find information on producers (contact details, opening hours, available wines, etc.), nearby hotels and restaurants, and ongoing wine festivals. It is free to download from the Apple Store for iPhones, under the name “Vins et Tourisme en Bourgogne”. For Android devices, it can be obtained from the site www.vins-tourisme-bourgogne.com. It is to be made available in English in the course of 2011.

visiting the wine growers

311 Estates and Wine Merchants (compared to 273 last year) now adhere to the Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB) “De Vignes en Caves” visitors’ charter, under which the signatories undertake to provide a warm welcome to members of the public. They are all included in a practical document which you can take with you everywhere: the “Roadmap to the wines of Burgundy”. As well as giving details of these producers, the map also offers information on interesting sites, itineraries, etc.
At the same time, and in complementary fashion, the BIVB is publishing “Bourgognes en Fête 2011”. The “bible” of wine events in Burgundy (of which there are around one hundred) lists next year’s unmissable events, and is available in French and English. Available now from the BIVB and tourist offices and www.burgundy-wines.fr.

e-learning

At the beginning 2011, the Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB) will launch its first premier e-learning training module. Under the name of “A la Découverte des vins de Bourgogne” (Discovering Burgundy wines), this module will be available on CD-Rom or as a web download. It combines an interactive format (video reports, 360-degree photos, films about the vineyard, quiz) with a wide range of informative and well-documented content, enabling all professionals and enthusiasts to broaden their knowledge. It will be made available, initially, in five languages: first in French and English, then in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Tastings and Tours

Tasting Table - Michel Picard's Winery at Château Chassagne-Montrachet offer a tasting lunch in their stylish dining room from March through to November, Monday to Saturday. Six or twelve of their wines can be tried, together with a tour of the cellars for 40 - 50€ per person. Reservation required in advance. Contact Marie-Florence: contact@michelpicard.com

The Marché aux Vins in the centre of Beaune, next to the Hotel-Dieu, is an excellent introduction to the best wines of the region. There you can taste the famous names from Meursault to Puligny-Montrachet at your leisure. The Marché aux Vins is open every day and the visit and tasting costs 10 € per person.

The Hôtel du Conseiller du Roy, is the impressive HQ of Bouchard Aîné& Fils on the ring road around Beaune. You can visit the age-old cellars and take a tasting tour for 9 € per person, lasting one hour. In one of the cellars there are pots of different scents from cinnamon to Lapsang Souchong tea to help you identify the personality of the wines you are sampling. Open daily from 9.30 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 19.00.

Wine Tours - Wherever you are in the world, so much more can come out of a trip when you have an experienced guide showing you the way. David and Lynne Hammond, an English couple living in Burgundy, share their knowledge with you on their wine tours, visiting small independent vineyards and meeting the vignerons. About 20 wines are tasted throughout the day, and a three-course lunch is included in the price. Chablis has recently been added to the regions. There are one, two and three day tours to choose from with transport in their air-conditioned Land Rover Discovery. Prices for a day’s tour range from 150€ per person, and weekend trips can be planned to include accommodation. There is also a chance to buy the Hammonds’ recommended wine selection. Their deep passion and boundless enthusiasm for Burgundy is infectious. lynne@burgundydiscovery.com

One of the tours offered by Burgundy on a Plate is the Classic Cellar Tour, visiting exclusive wine growers in the Côte de Beaune, Côte de Nuits, Côte Chalonnaise and Chablis. You spend five nights in a 4 star hotel in Beaune and one night in Chablis with regional lunches and gastronomic dinners. During the day you will visit some of the most famous wine villages and be taken to cellars that rarely open their doors to the public. The wine expert on the tour has spent eleven years in the Vosne Romanee vineyard and will provide an insider's perspective. sue@burgundyonaplate.com

Also see: Gourmet Tours

Websites

The BIVB website, www.burgundy-wines.fr. is packed full of information about Burgundy wine, with a younger approach. A lively group of journalists has come up with www.divine-comedie.com looking at the small independent wine producers in the region, a site worth keeping up with.

Wine appreciation sites are gaining in strength and none more so than Bill Nanson's Burgundy Report. He profiles the wine growers of the region, has an extensive database of tasting notes and highlights the wine villages. Being completely independent, it provides a good overview.

www.burgundy-report.com

Jancis Robinson is prolific in her wine writing and Burgundy features strongly. With tantilizing sections such as 'don't quote me', you may want to subscribe annually for full insider information, but there is plenty on the site to read in 'free for all '. www.jancisrobinson.com

wine books

For more information on Burgundy Wine, see Wine Guidebooks