Some day I hope to be rich enough to love Burgundy...

Not that I don't love Burgundy now it's just hard to love something that you can't afford to drink on a regular basis. Paula Poundstone (one of my favorite comedians) used to have a great one liner where she would say, "One day, I hope to be rich enough to be a Republican." That's kind of how I feel about Burgundy. In a way it goes against everything that I believe wine should be. It's expensive, pretentious and can be difficult to come by. I like my wine inexpensive and accessible. Everyday drinking kind of stuff. But this is also a reflection of my current economic standing. I am in the $10-$15 a bottle wine bracket.

I'm fascinated by Burgundy though. One cannot argue that the wines can be absolutely sublime. The region itself is steeped in history with wine being produced in the area since the Romans. The Benedictine monks introduced Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to the area and began delineating the vineyard system that exists their today. Honestly, monks= awesome. We really would be at a loss for great booze if all those guys hadn't been bored out of their minds so many centuries ago.

But I digress, Burgundy is pretty darn interesting. It is so simple with only two varietals being grown there, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. And yet it is one of the most difficult regions to understand with so many vineyards and so many winemakers who own parcels of said vineyards. You have, for example, Clos Vougoet a vineyard set up by monks in the 11th century. In the centuries since it was walled off the vineyard has gone through several owners, been split between different heirs, passed on and then split again and finally today has more than 80 different owners! The vineyard is around 120 acres and is actually one of the largest of the Grand Cru vineyards but it has been divided up amongst all these different producers who then each make their own particular Clos Vougoet. And the wines are all very clearly called Clos Vougeot, the vineyard is the star here not the producer (Very different from what we do here in California.) Just a little thing to remember next time you have a nice Burgundy you like- find the producers name, don't just make a note of the name of the wine itself as their may be 80 different wines by the same name.

But anyways, this is just the tip of the crazy Burgundy iceberg here. It's intensely fascinating and I hope to one day be able to really dive in to it. Sure, I can read about it, I can probably taste more of these wines than the average non-wine lady, but I can't really get into a full on study of Burgundy because I'm poor. Your average Clos Vougeot is over $100 a bottle so to do any kind of tasting comparison you've got to have some cash. That's okay though, I'll save that for later in life. For now, I should be and I am content to drink Burgundy's offering to the regular folk- The Bourgogne Rouge. In Burgundy wines are priced according to the specificity of their location. Par example a Red Burgundy is cheapest if the label just says Bourgogne Rouge (red Burgundy) more expensive if it is narrowed down to an area in Burgundy, say Cotes de Beaune, even more expensive if it is narrowed down to a specific village within the area, say Pommard and then more expensive still if it is narrowed down to one specific vineyard within the village, say Clos des Charmots.

The Bourgogne Rouge is the everyday Burgundy. They still fall more in the $20 to $30 range but they offer a glimpse of what one may have to look forward to in life. One of the best of these I have tried of late is the Domaine Philippe Gavignet 2008 Bourgogne Rouge. Gavignet is located in Nuits-St. Georges a village at the heart of Burgundy formerly known as Nuits (until they added the hyphenate- the name of their most famous vineyard.) Tasting this wine one can only imagine what his higher end village and vineyard wines must be like. This is Bourgogne Rouge at its best, accessible and delicious. A bouquet of cranberry, cola and rose petals leading into a silky palate with more red fruit and delicate notes of earth. It is light in body, yet quite complex and tastes of the promise of something more. The promise of the days when one can invite over some friends for dinner and say, "hey, tonight we are going to taste through several vintages of wines from a specific vineyard in Burgundy just for sh*ts and giggles. Because we're rich." *wipes off monocle with handkerchief, straightens top hat, lights cigar with hundred dollar bill*