We went down to the dining room at 8:30 and had a great breakfast - included in the room. Jocelyn's husband, Salva Bianco, was there to greet us. Coffee, croissants, cereal, fruit, ham, and jams. We got plenty. We showed him our "book" for our trip that Emilie had prepared and he was DELIGHTED to see the pictures of L'Octroi Saint Jacques in the book and Jocelyn's name. He couldn't get over that and we enjoyed watching him. Jocelyn came and loved it as well.
Another beautiful day - and much warmer - in the low 70's. We took a short walk into the town and then headed to the Tourist Office where we met Francois from Chemins de Bourgogne for our private tour starting at 10 am. Francois had a brand new Land Rover that was comfortable and perfect for the terrain we'd be travelling over - up and down hills, through vineyards, etc.
Walking around the quaint town of Beaune
The beautiful Hospice Dieu - some under renovation
Beautiful tile work typical on the roofs of many buildings in Beaune and the surrounding area
We headed south out of town in the Cote de Beaune. First stop Pommard followed by many other small towns including: Volnay, Montlie, Aucey-Duresses, Meur-Mersault (90% white wines mostly chardonnay), Bligny, Pichigny-Montrachet, and Chessagne-Montrachet. We went back to Volnay and visited a cave and had wine tasting of the Cote de Beaune wines. The winemaker there is the 18th generation making wines in his family - a very proud man. We tasted about 6 wines - some good, some not so good (!). We decided not to buy any wines here and we think he was disappointed, but we figured we'd have plenty of other opportunities.
Wine tasting at Moissenet-Bonnaud Winery
Then we had lunch at a restaurant that was built in a former cave. We had snails and coq au vin - both delicious. For dessert I had a creamy glace (like ice cream) with a topping made from the left-overs of the crushed red grapes - it was fabulous and "earthy/fruity smelling"!
Lunch at Le Celier Volnaysien Restaurant - an old "cave" - Delicious!
Francois showing us the Pommard vines and explaining how they are staked and grown
Many of the wines already have grape bunches started
Then we went back headed to Cote de Nuits to Saint Aubin, Pernard-Vergelesses, Ladoix, Comblanchien, and Magny les Villess where there was a huge quarry. There are apparently a lot of quarries in this area some that go quite deep. Francois should have been a geologist as he knew about the tectonic plates and explained to us why the various wines grow where they grow - it all has to do with the terroir and the soil - how many rocks - how much water (irrigation is forbidden - only rain), sunlight, and lack of back storms.
There are many vineyards that are enclosed with rock walls. If they are of a certain height, then the vineyard can get the designation of "Clos" - never knew that.
Then we went to Premeaux-Prissey, Nuits St Georges, Vosne-Romanes, Romany0Corte, and then Chambolle-Musingny where we had wine tasting. We stopped at Boursat & Fils and the eldest son was the "marketer" and explained the various wines we tasted. You could tell that he enjoyed his job. He is a 14th generation winemaker. He and his younger brother will take over the vineyard from his father. Apparently this is VERY hard work.
Enjoying the warm weather on the slopes of Cotes de Nuits
The Chateau du Clos de Vougest - formerly owned by monks hundreds of years ago
Views of vast fields of grape vines everywhere you look in Cotes de Nuits
Another view of the Chateau du Clos de Vougest
We had a FULL day of touring and learned a lot. We returned to the B&B a little after 6 pm and bid Francois goodbye. We were so impressed with his knowledge of the region and scientific facts about wine making. Emilie made a good recommendation for this private tour with Francois - Bravo!
We relaxed for a while and then got ready for dinner. We have dinner reservations tonight at La Table d'Olivier Leflaive - a recommendation from Emilie. It was a short 15 minute ride in the car from our B&B and easy to find. We took the menu with the 7 wine tastings. A great dinner and we enjoyed tasting the various white wines since most of our tastings earlier today were red. A great recommendation from Emilie. Olivier came to visit our table and talked to us a while - he's even been to Ft Lauderdale twice. He comes to the US each year for wine events, mostly in NY, Chicago and Los Angeles. His servers explained the various wines we had and we got to compare them. We were amazed how the taste changed with the food we were eating.
Dinner took over 2 hours - where does the time go during a French meal? We are enjoying the more relaxed atmosphere at meals. And we think we needed the relaxation anyway!!!!
Unwind back at the B&B and to bed for a well deserved rest. More adventure tomorrow in Beaune and Dijon.
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