Burgundy

Whenever someone asks about wines from Burgundy two quotes come to mind. The first is from the famous chef Julia Child, “I would happily die with a bottle of white Burgundy in my mouth.” The second is from the Bright Lights, Big City author Jay McInerney, “If it’s red, French, costs too much, and tastes like the water that’s left in the vase after the flowers have died and rotted, it’s probably Burgundy.” 
 
Those two quotes nicely frame the contradictions, and truths, about the famous French wine region. Burgundy is a narrow strip of land (30 miles long and 2 miles wide) that produces wine from two grapes, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and yet it has a massive influence on the wine world. Some of its wines are terrible while some are so desirable they can cost tens of thousands of dollars per bottle. There have been lots of books written to explain why and we could talk about its five primary growing regions or four-tiered classification system for hours, but the best way to understand Burgundy is to taste it.