France - Burgundy

The French Wine region of Burgundy (aka “Bourgogne”) may be small in size but its influence is huge in the world of vino It can strike fear into the heart of even a seasoned wine pro, but fear not – the region need only be as complex as you want it to be Yes, it is home to some of the most expensive wines in the known universe but there are tasty affordable wines too About 200 million years ago, the region was part of a vast, tropical sea which created limestone soils, the secret behind the zesty minerality that’s a hallmark of Burgundy wines.

In fact, if you venture into the vineyards you can find chunks of limestone or marl (limestone mixed with clay) that have fascinating fossilized sea creatures mixed within Winemaking goes back to the Romans in the 1st century AD but it was the Catholic monks that really established the vineyards in the Middle Ages growing grapes for the church and the aristocratic Dukes of Burgundy The French Revolution gave the land back to the people who, today, pride themselves on their attachment to the land So much so that many are practicing sustainable, organic and bio-dynamic viticulture and winemaking in ever increasing numbers.

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