Dr. Who?

As I left Switzerland behind with my suitcase filled with chocolate, I entered France for the second time.  In the North East corner of France is the Bourgogne (Burgundy) wine district.  I really enjoyed my stay in Dijon, and the best part was my day-trip to Beaune.

Once in Beaune, my tour group and I rented bicycles.  We set off on a 16 km tour of the vineyards in Beaune which are connected by many villages that thrive on the wine business.  Each village has multiple wine cellars, known as "caves" in French.

Zanner's version of the Tour de France.

The bike trip through Cote de Beaune was amazing.  This was probably my favorite day on my entire solo Europe experience (without Greg).  The feeling of coasting down the hills with the fresh air blowing in my face, while appreciating row upon row of lush green vines, is something I will always cherish.  I felt like I was in a movie - this couldn't possibly be for real, could it?

Beautiful vineyards.

Fay leads the group.

The green vineyards were vibrant against the blue sky and sunshine, and were dotted with stone houses and small work shops.  The bike path was paved and connected village after village in this impressive setting.  It certainly was not a flat ride - some hills had me huffing and puffing and I was thankful for the 27 gears on my rented bike.

Hills of Beaune.

 The bike ride was on a Sunday morning and the villages were tranquil and serene.

Serene side street.

My favorite village was Meursault.  I must have good taste because the wines from Meursault are priced at 5 times that of the neighboring villages.  Meursault is quaint with cobblestone buildings, a church, a water fountain, restaurants and a patisserie.  There were no souvenir shops - I was in heaven!  Our carefree caravan had a picnic lunch in the main square in Meursault before we continued on our journey.

Meursault restaurant.

Quaint little creek with lily pads.

Upon returning exhausted to Beaune, and after returning the bikes (thankfully), we walked to the "La Cave de L'Ange Gardien" for a 'degustation' - a wine tasting.  Let me introduce you to Docteur Pierre, our animated Sommelier.

Docteur Pierre - Sommelier extraordinaire.

Pierre informed us that the wines from the Cote de Beaune will extend our lives and keep us healthy.  He didn't have to tell me twice - I was the first in line for a taste!

The entire group at the wine tasting in Beaune.

We tasted 10 wines (5 white and 5 red), one champagne and a blackcurrant  liqueur called "Crème de Cassis".  Blending the Crème de Cassis with Champagne was a delectable end to our very dynamic wine tasting.

All Burgundy wine is 100% Chardonnay whites, and 100% Pinot Noir reds.  With one exception, I tried a Pinot Beurot which is extremely rare due to weak market demand.  The whites were very crisp and light which is a result of the clay content in the soil.  The pallet of the reds was quite broad - light reds that tasted as if they were whites, all the way to dark, smokey, deep reds at the top of the price scale.

France does not permit the use of irrigation on any vineyard.  Pierre explained that the roots of these Old World vines travel deep into the soil, sometimes up to 20 meters, in search of water.  This creates a hardy, stable vine with a strong, developed root network that can live for up to 70 years.  The New World wines  have roots that are at the surface, waiting for water from rain or irrigation.  As water becomes an increasingly valuable commodity, Dr. Pierre predicts a sad demise for New World vines.

One of the wines we tried was from Pommier, which fittingly was the first village we cycled to on our bike trip.  Pommier is a red wine that is very popular with the ladies, and according to Pierre it is an aphrodisiac (Sorry Greg, I couldn't afford to buy a bottle).  The story passed down within the local community is that in the Bible, when Abraham and Sarah were not able to conceive a child, they finally got pregnant when Sarah was in her nineties because she finally drank some Pommier.  Pierre explained that for 69 Euros, women can enjoy the unique smooth leathery, smoke flavored aphrodisiac.  He then proclaimed:

"Aftairr I zell zee bottle ov Pommier, I must leef zee rhoom.  I doo nhottte vante too know vat happeens aftairr!"

My wine of choice was definitely the thick, sweet Crème de Cassis.  Pierre insisted that this drink can prevent Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and many cancers, and if we did not enjoy it we could call him a "Bool Sheettair"!  It was a big seller, and  our host kept his title of Dr. Pierre.

Dr. Pierre pours the Creme de Cassis.