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Burgundy is a wine region quite apart from the rest. And the wine produced here is unlike other fine wines crafted in France. The delicate Pinot Noir and the noble Chardonnay cultivated on Burgundian terroirs have long been a source of fascination for wine enthusiasts the world over. The intrinsic qualities of the region’s wine are at the heart of this fascination, but there is also a sense that it serves as an ingress to all that is quintessentially French. This is perhaps a somewhat fanciful image, but it is a timeless one, fusing the authenticity of rural tradition, the beauty of legendary landscapes, and the unrivalled taste of classic cuisine. Burgundy is also the birthplace of the all-important notion of terroir, a concept which, almost to excess, has become the key to understanding the soul of a fine wine.
The history of the Burgundian vine dates back much further than Burgundy itself, in the sense that we have evidence of viticultural activity from long before the region was established.
As is often observed in French wine history, it was likely the Romans who introduced the vine to Gaul. Before then, around 300 BC, chances are that Celtic tribes who settled in what is now Burgundy brought a taste for wine with them in their travels over the Alps, as well as a few amphora pots! It wasn’t until the 1st century AD that wine growing activity really began to flourish – traces of amphora made in Gueugnon and barrels, a Gaulois speciality, have been discovered as proof. The wine of this era would have been quite different from what we drink today: it was infused with herbs and spices, and enriched with honey and even salt in order to better preserve it. Unlike the Romans, who tended to dilute their wine with water (believing only the Gods had the right to drink it pure), the Gauls would consume it straight, and because of this were considered ‘barbaric’ by the invaders.
