Region Guide: Burgundy, France
| Bâtard-Montrachet | | Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet | Blagny | | Bourgogne | Bourgogne aligoté | Bourgogne clairet | Bourgogne clairet Côte chalonnaise | Bourgogne Coulanges-la-Vineuse | Bourgogne Côte Saint-Jacques | Bourgogne Coulanges-la-Vineuse | Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre | Bourgogne Côtes du Couchois | Bourgogne Epineuil | Bourgogne grand ordinaire | Bourgogne Hautes-côtes de Beaune | Bourgogne Hautes-côtes de Nuits | Bourgogne La Chapelle Notre-Dame | Bourgogne le Chapitre | Bourgogne Montrecul | Bourgogne mousseux | Bourgogne ordinaire | Bourgogne | Passe-tout-grains | Bourgogne Vézelay | Bourgogne rosé | | Chablis AOC | Chambertin AOC | Chambertin-Clos-de-Beze | Chambolle-Musigny AOC | Chapelle-Chambertin AOC | Charlemagne AOC | Charmes-Chambertin AOC | Chassage-Montrachet AOC | Chevalier-Montrachet AOC | Corey-les-Beaune AOC | Clos des Lambrays AOC | Clos de la Roche AOC | Clos de Tart AOC | Clos de Vougeot AOC | Clos Saint-Denis AOC | Corton AOC | Corton-Charlemagne AOC | Côte de Beaune AOC | Côte de Beaune-Villages AOC | Côte de Nuits-villages AOC | Côtes du Forez AOC | Crémant de Bourgogne AOC | Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet AOC | | | Griotte-Chambertin AOC | Irancy AOC | La Grande Rue AOC | La Romanée AOC | La Tâche AOC | Latricieres-Chambertin AOC | Maranges AOC | Marsannay AOC | Mazis-Chambertin AOC | Mazoyeres-Chambertin AOC | Meursault AOC | Montagny AOC | Monthelie AOC | Montrachet AOC | Morey-Saint-Denis AOC | Nuits-Saint-Georges | AOC | Pernand-Vergelesses AOC | Pommard AOC | Puligny-Montrachet AOC | Richebourg AOC | Romanée-Conti AOC | Romanée-Saint-Vivant AOC | Ruchottes-Chambertin AOC | Saint-Aubin AOC | Saint-Bris AOC | Saint-Romain AOC | Santenay AOC | Savigny-les-Beaune AOC | Tonnerre AOC | Vins Fins de la Côte de Nuits AOC | Volnay Santenots AOC | Vosne-Romanée AOC | Vougeot AOC
Chablis: Petit Chablis AOC | Chablis AOC
Cote de Beaune (Cote d'Or):
Aloxe-Corton AOC | Auxey-Duresses AOC | Beaune AOC | Blagny AOC | Chassagne-Montrachet AOC | Chorey-les-Beaune AOC | Côte de Beaune AOC | Côte de Beaune-Villages AOC | Ladoix AOC | Maranges AOC | Meursault AOC | Monthélie AOC | Pernand-Vergelesses AOC | Pommard AOC | Puligny-Montrachet AOC | Saint-Aubin AOC | Saint-Romain AOC | Santenay AOC | Savigny-lès-Beaune | Volnay
Cote de Nuits (Cote d'Or):
Échezeaux AOC | Fixin AOC | Gevrey-Chambertin AOC | Grands Échezeaux AOC
Grand Cru Villages:
Cote Chalonnaise:
Bouzeron AOC | Givry AOC | Mercurey AOC | Rully AOC
For a long time the Cote Chalonnaise has been overlooked in favour of the region's more illustrious names and appellations. While it might be true to say that compared with the very best, the Cote Chalonnaise has less to offer, it certainly has the potential to be a source of decent off the beaten path Burgundy, especially if budgets rule out some of the glitzier domains anyway.
The Mâconnais:
Macon AOC | Mâcon supérieur AOC | Mâcon-villages AOC | Pouilly-Fuisse AOC | Pouilly-Loché | Pouilly-Vinzelles AOC | Saint-Véran AOC | Viré-Clessé AOC
Beaujolais:
Burgundy is part myth, part legend, part cunnundrum. Regardless of its undoubted paradoxes, it is capable of producing some of the greatest red and white wines in the world. It can also offer a lifetime of study and for the serious wine geek, there is no place on earth like it. The amount of single vineyards that have been officially recognised as grand cru, premier cru, or even as high quality sites known as climats is overwhelming.
So, where to start? Burgundy encompasses five basic regions that differ stylistically and help us to identify wine styles. These are Chablis in the north of the region, the Cote d'Or which is understood in reference to two hillsides covered in a patchwork of vines known as the Cote de Beune and the Cote de Nuits. To the west their is the Cote Chalonais which remains a largely undiscovered area, while heading south there is the Mâconnais. Finally, to the far south there is Beaujolais.
When it comes to classifying individual sites there are two classifications to look out for.
Premier Cru: This will appear as the name of the village and the name of the vineyard classified as premier cru. There are 585 premier cru vineyards in the Côte d'Or and Côte Chalonnaise. These represent around 18% of Burgundy's total production.
Grand Cru: Only the name of the vineyard will appear on its own. This can be confusing because some of the grand cru names (Chambertin, Montrachet, Musigny) appear as part of a village name (see above). There are 32 Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte d'Or. They represent less than 5% of production.