Burgundy General Terms Flashcards
(32 cards)
What is the breakup of growers and winemakers in Burgundy?
Vineyards are typically parceled up into different growers, growers may own a few rows or a few acres of the vineyard. 60% of Burgundy is bought in barrel from the grower.
What is a monopole? Give an example.
A whole vineyard in the hands of one owner, a rarity. La Tache, La Romanee-Conti.
What is a negociant?
Negociants make up a large portion of those that make wine in Burgundy.
Negociants buy barrels from growers and blend with other barrels from the same appellation. The wine is marketed as a wine of a given district, it can be vineyard-specific, or as broad as “village” specific.
What does ‘eleve’ mean?
“to be reared”
referring to the negociant making a blended wine out of wine from different growers
How many AOCs are in Burgundy?
100
How were vineyard divisions changed following the French Revolution?
After French Revolution in 1789, all vineyards were sold off in small parcels from the Church. Then the Napoleonic Code (1804) instituted equal inheritance among male heirs (all heirs added later), fragmenting vineyards further
When did wine first get made in Burgundy?
51 BC
How many cases per year are produced in Burgundy?
19M. Of which, 12M are beaujolais
What grapes are grown in Burgundy
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, gamay, aligote
How many appellations make up the entirety of Burgundy
Regional appellations - Bourgogne or Chablis AOP, for example
Village Wines
Premier Crus (1st growths)
Grand Crus (great growths)
What is the average growing season temp?
60F
What vineyard hazards exist primarily?
Frost, disease (mildew), autumn rain, hail
What are the main regions of Burgundy
Chablis
Cote d’Or (Cote de Nuits, Cote De Beaune)
Cote Chalonnaise
Maconnais
Beaujolais
What is the average vineyard size?
18.5 acres (7.5 ha)
What is the Burgundian method of wine making?
- Harvesting the wine in small lots and making each lot separately.
- Using indigenous yeasts, not adding commercial yeasts
- Barrel fermentation of white wines
- Malolactic fermentation of white wines
- Long lees contact (sur lie) and batonnage of white wines
- Small open-topped fermenters for red wine
- Very gentle and minimal handling of the wine after it’s made
- Fining with casein or isinglass for chardonnay, egg whites for pinot noir
- Fifteen to eighteen months of aging in small oak barrels, usually not 100% new
How long is the region of Burgundy?
140 miles, it extends from Dijon in the north to Lyon in the south
How would you describe a Burgundian pinot noir?
Light to medium body, lower tannin, intense flavor, higher acid.
Is chaptalization legal in Burgundy?
Yes. The process of adding more sugar to a fermentation will help the yeasts create more alcohol, thereby making the wine fuller in body. Top producers typically avoid this.
What are the main soil types of Burgundy?
Limestone and limestone-rich clays called marls. Also Kimmeridgian limestone that has visible fossils of sea creatures in it, common in Chablis and Cote d’Or
How deep can roots go into the limestone?
70 ft
What was the job of Cistercian monks in the 11-12th centuries?
Monks from the abbey of Citeaux painstakingly studied the vineyards, identifying often tiny, superior parcels that produced wines of distinct character
Where did pinot noir originate?
From wild vines in the forests of Burgundy.
Who ordered gamay to be torn up from Burgundian vineyards?
Philip the Bold, 14th century
What is unqiue about grand cru labels?
The village won’t appear on the label, just the vineyard name
