Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and 1,247 named vineyard plots on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Brett founded the Boulder Burgundy Festival, so this corner of the shop gets extra love.
A room of its own for Burgundy: 114 wines on the shelf today, red and white, from Bourgogne to grand cru. Brett founded the Boulder Burgundy Festival.
A short guide
Burgundy in five minutes
Every fact here is from Burgundy's own wine board (the BIVB) or UNESCO, linked under each part.
1
Where it is
Burgundy is in France, with vineyards running between Auxerre and the Mâcon region. The wine board describes these areas:
Chablis and the Grand Auxerrois. Chablis sits roughly midway between Beaune and Paris; the Grand Auxerrois is centred on Auxerre.
Côte de Nuits. A narrow hillside about 20 km long between Dijon and Corgoloin, mainly red wine.
Côte de Beaune. About 20 km from Ladoix-Serrigny to the Maranges: Pinot Noir around Beaune, Chardonnay from Meursault on.
Côte Chalonnaise. Between the Côte de Beaune and the hills of the Mâconnais.
Mâconnais. The most southerly part: about 35 km of vines between Sennecey-le-Grand and Saint-Vérand.
Pinot Noir built the reputation of Burgundy's great reds. Chardonnay is behind the great whites of the Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Mâconnais and Chablis.
Then the supporting cast: Aligoté for Bourgogne Aligoté (and some Crémant de Bourgogne), Gamay in the Mâconnais, plus small plantings such as Sauvignon in Saint-Bris and César in Irancy.
A climat is a plot of vines, precisely marked out by people over centuries, often with a name known since the Middle Ages; the wine from it carries that name.
In 2015 UNESCO put "The Climats, terroirs of Burgundy" on the World Heritage List: 1,247 climats on the slopes of the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune, with their villages, the town of Beaune and the historic centre of Dijon.
A non-profit autumn festival bringing leading Burgundy producers and writers to Boulder, founded by Master Sommelier Brett Zimmerman. Past wineries include Domaines d'Angerville and Roulot; past writers include Eric Asimov of the New York Times and Master of Wine Jancis Robinson.
In stock today. The shop's own photographs; each bottle's page has the label facts and, where the producer published one, its tech sheet. See you at the Boulder Burgundy Festival.
