Burgundy… a land laden with wealthy vineyards, historic towns and 750 miles of
canals. Situated in the southeast of central France, the region is also
responsible for placing snails on the world’s dinner plate.
The following recounts our flying visit while travelling back from Northern
Italy.
Beaune
Arriving from the south, we sought out Beaune having swotted up on the
town’s rich wine culture: making it, tasting it, selling it and, essentially,
drinking it. We were to be disappointed, however, for here, more than anywhere
we’ve visited, the now manicured town has been flooded with thirsty tourists,
leading to inflated prices and an inauthentic ambiance.
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| The central square in Beaune |
For the deep-pocketed wine lover, Beaune offers a picturesque (but
expensive) base from which to explore the Côte d'Or wine region in Burgandy.
Motorhomes are accommodated at the aire du camping some twenty minutes’ walk from the town centre - we pulled
alongside a dozen other motorhomes during our mid-September visit. We managed,
prior to departure, to find a good-value lunch selected from the menu
d’jour at one of Beaune’s many restaurants: beef bourgogne, roast
chicken in tarragon sauce and potato dauphinoise. Classic French cuisine.
Nuits-Saint-Georges
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| The convivial central square in Nuits-Saint-Georges |
In search of more veritable surroundings, we drove 16km north to the
small town of Nuits-Saint-Georges. The town has a modest aire du
camping with around ten spaces, though we opted for a roadside spot
alongside a river running through the centre. With evening falling, we
traversed the backstreets to the pretty, cobbled central square, where friendly
locals spilled out of several inviting bars. As the sky darkened over the 17th century
belfry, we devoured regional cheese plates and a range of local wines,
serenaded by the chatter of French voices.
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An eye-wateringly expensive glass of wine
at La Cave du Clos in Fixin |
The following day we continued northwards on the D-974 ‘Rue de
Grand Crus’, a 60km wine route running through thirty-eight wine villages
and associated vineyards. Nestled in the uppermost section, between
Nuits-Saint-Georges and Dijon, are the beautiful Côte de Nuits villages, which
produce many of Burgundy’s finest red wines, including twenty-four of the
region’s thirty-three grands crus (and several of the world’s
most expensive wines). We stopped in the village of Fixin (pronounced
‘Fissaun’), to enjoy a glass of deep & complex pinot noir.
Dijon
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The Canal de Bourgogne passes close to the centre of Dijon:
the canal-side path attracts runners, cyclists, rollerbladers & wet dogs |
Arriving in the regional capital of Dijon, our first objective was to
find an overnight parking spot. Dijon is renowned for its dearth of aires
du camping – none are listed in guidebooks, on websites, or in any
other of the usual resources. An aire du service can be found
next to Lac Kir on the western extremes of the city, but parking is restricted.
We found a spot in an urban car park at the Port du Canal, a 20-minute walk
from the centre. Overlooked by surrounding apartments, and among the liveliness
of the adjacent boating community using the nearby lock gates, the spot
provided a secure location to sleep that night.
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| Not the Arc du Triomphe in Dijon |
The sights of Dijon can be experienced over one or two days, the city
being sufficiently compact to explore on foot. The local tourist office has
developed a smartphone app – known as the Owl Tour - to guide visitors through
the city’s narrow backstreets. In the Middle Ages, Burgundy was an expansive
dukedom covering a huge geographical area (including half of modern day
Switzerland), with power and prestige to rival the kingdom of France itself. The
city’s ostentatious past remains embodied in its grand architecture, including
numerous hotels: mansion houses carved out of the pale,
honey-coloured local stone to accommodate successive Dukes of Burgundy.
In line with the Bourgogne trend, we struggled to find a glass of the local wine
under €4: instead, the boisson de prédilection of the
Dijonnaise locals was a more modestly priced Côtes de Provence rosé, costing €2-3 per
glass. In addition to its renowned mustard, Dijon is central to the production
of crème de cassis - a blackcurrant liqueur used in the drink ‘Kir’,
in which it is combined with white wine. Dijon, like all French settlements
of note, has a local cheese: Époisses is a pungent, soft-paste cheese made from
cows milk in a nearby village of the same name and, at 10cm in diameter, is
France’s smallest cheese.
Auxerre
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| Semur-en-Auxois |
The following day, after a morning run along the canalside towpath, we
drove toward our next stop, Auxerre. En route, we stopped at the historic
village of Châteauneuf-en-Auxois (one of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de
France – ‘the most beautiful villages of France’) and the equally
stunning fortified medieval town of Semur-en-Auxois. Our desire to experience
the heart of the Chablis wine district dictated a further stop in the market
town of Avallon, linked in legend to the mythical King Arthur of England. More
importantly, it’s a centre of production for gingerbread, the latter pairing
surprisingly well with several glasses of fresh, earthy white wine.
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| The Yonne river at Auxerre |
Our final overnight stop in the region was in Auxerre, with its trio of
imposing churches perched high above the Yonne river. The city appeared to be a
popular rest stop for motorhomes heading in every direction: the riverside car
parks some 15 minutes’ walk from the historic city centre were a melting pot of
nationalities. Auxerre is home to the University of Bourgogne and its narrow
streets are peppered with cafes, bars (du vin, of course) & restaurants
to serve the young population. We thoroughly enjoyed the warm & relaxed
ambiance in Auxerre and will definitely be returning when next in the
area.
The Burgundy region consists of 4+1 wine-producing areas. Côte de Nuits, Côte
de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais are strung north to south along the
aforementioned ‘Rue de Grand Crus’. Chablis, meanwhile, is
geographically set apart, northeast of the other areas. Burgundy is known for
growing only two varieties of grape: pinot noir and chardonnay. There are, in
fact, a few exceptions to the rule. The aligoté variety, grown only in the
village of Bouzeron, produces a floral, flinty & citrusy white that,
locally, is combined with crème de cassis to form the regional Kir cocktail.
In the village of Rully, meanwhile, sparkling white and rosé wines known
as Cremant de Bourgogne are created using traditional methods,
just as in Champagne.
Essentially, the various appellations (recognised wine growing areas)
are divided into four levels of quality: grand cru, premier cru, village wines
and regional wines*. As a rule of thumb, grand cru wines are bold, powerful
& complex, while regional wines - of which the aforementioned Cremant
de Bourgogne is one - are more likely to be fresh, light and
lively.
* As with many things French, an exception has been developed to complicate
an otherwise simple system: despite being within the Burgundy region, Chablis
has embraced a separate ranking system, used to classify the chardonnay-based
wines produced there.
Typically, when visiting wine regions, we undertake several tastings at
vineyards and caves degustation before nipping off to the
supermarket, with all our newly acquired knowledge, to buy several cases at
reasonable dollar. Our flying visit to Burgundy was the first instance where
this method has failed. Burgundy wines are notoriously expensive and, even in
supermarkets, retail at upwards of €10 per bottle for the lowest quality
appellations. Fortunately, we’d already loaded up in Italy on fantastically
inexpensive yet delicious Prosecco, along with several cases of red from
Bordeaux, so it was with some contentment that we were able to depart the
region without an example of its finest export.
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| We stealth camped throughout the region... and no-one even suspected we were there! |
