Now that we know the geography of Burgundy, the grapes, the crucial concept of terroir, the importance of at least being familiar with the village names (and some of the vineyard names), there are 3 important issues to discuss which are fundamental to the further understanding of the wines.
The first is the importance of the specific vintage.
Each year is unique, and it is the variations in weather throughout a given vintage that give that vintage it's specific character.
2003 is a good example.
It was an extremely hot year throughout Europe, so hot that hundreds of people actually died as a result of the heat.
This heat caused the grapes to ripen very early(the harvest was pretty much done in Burgundy by the very beginning of September), and it acted to concentrate the sugars in the grapes.
As a result, the 2003 wines are very fruity and have been defined as easy, early drinking wines.
2005 was a vintage of almost perfect growing conditions throughout the season, and as a result, the grapes were perfect as they arrived at the winery. The ideal conditions to make great wine.
The same was true for this past vintage, 2009.
2008, by contrast was a difficult vintage, and it was only the last 3 or so weeks prior to harvest that saved the vintage, having been cool and wet throughout spring and summer.
This brings us to the Second issue, the role the wine maker plays.
It is during the difficult vintages that the winemaker must show his (or her) stuff.
Difficult vintages are called "winemakers vintages, kind of a euphemism for the necessity of creative wine making.
Each winemaker has a specific style of wine making, so in order to really understand and appreciate the wines, it is a good idea to know some of the major/well known (and well respected) winemakers. (I am certainly biased, but I would put Alex Gambal high on that list). Publications like the Wine Spectator are good resources for this.
The Third issue is the significance of being a negociant
(As we have learned, a negociant is someone who purchases either grapes or grapes juices from grape growers in order to make wine).
Since most of the wine produced in Burgundy is made by negociants, there is a philosophical conflict possible between the growers of the grapes, and the makers of the wine (negociants).
The negociant wants to have as much control as possible over the growing/growing condition of the grapes, since the best wine is made from the best grapes.
But grape grower s(ie. farmers, whose product happens to be grapes) don't necessarily want to be told how to do their job...
In addition, most growers of agricultural products(soybeans, corn, wheat,grapes, etc.,etc.) are paid related to the yield, and historically, the growers want to grow the most they can in a given area of land.
This is pretty much opposite of the conditions for great wines; it is small yields on carefully and scrupulously tended land that produces great wines.
And finally, a little piece of information with which you can impress your wanna be wine friends with.
While it is mostly true that there are only 2 grapes types (chardonnay and pinot noir), it's not 100% true.
Aligote is a white grape variety that produces a wine that is very often paired with oysters. There is also a pinot gris type grape grown. But the most important "other"(red) grape type is Gamay- the grape used to make Beaujolais.
I suggest you now know go to your favorite wine store and start looking in the Burgundy section.
Hopefully it won't be so intimidating now, and you can start to do what is clearly the most important part of the learning process: wine drinking.
Santé !
Written by Henry Talberth
Bonjour a tous, I have, for the last six years, participated in the wine harvest in Burgundy, cooking for a good friend who owns a winery in Beaune (Maison Alex Gambal).
It has been a most unbelievable experience, and I hope to be able to share a little of it with you.
