📍 Burgundy

Burgundy is a wine region in eastern France, a chain of vineyards about 250 km long running from north to south. The AOC Bourgogne zone covers slopes in the departments of Yonne, Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire and Rhône, over 300 communes in all. In the north the vines grow at 150–300 m, and from Dijon almost to Lyon, on the slope known as the Côte, at 250–400 m. Auxerre, Dijon, Beaune, Chalon-sur-Saône and Mâcon have long been wine-trading towns.

The climate is oceanic and fairly cool: the average annual temperature is 11 °C, with moderate, regular rainfall; there are continental traits in the east and southern ones in the south. The Burgundy wine board (BIVB) puts rainfall at about 700 mm a year. The abbeys of Cîteaux, Cluny and Pontigny also helped build the fame of the local wines.

According to the BIVB, there are 84 AOCs: 7 regional, 44 village and 33 grand cru, while premier cru vineyards are plots inside the village appellations. The vineyard area is 28,841 ha, about 3 % of France's. Since 2015, more than 1,000 named plots, the climats, have been on the UNESCO list.

AOC Bourgogne was recognised by a decree of 1937. Whites are made from Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc, reds from Pinot Noir; Gamay is allowed up to 30 %, and only from the 10 Beaujolais crus. Aligoté grows here too: more than 1,800 of the roughly 2,000 ha of this grape in France.

Why it matters to you. The name on the label shows the level: regional Bourgogne, a village name, premier cru or one of the 33 grands crus. In Burgundy, a climat is not the weather but a named vineyard plot. Whites are served at 4–10 °C, reds at 15–18 °C.