Dijon

October 5
We are just leaving the city of Dijon and the region of Burgundy. It has been quite an impressive part of France. It has been good to learn more about another wine region. All of those things that I have tried to understand about French wine in the past have a clearer focus now, especially terroir and controlled appellation and why the French are so traditional in their wine making practices.
Last night I went with a group to visit a winery in Fixin. Phillipe, the vigneron, produces about 70,000 bottles of wine per year. At 30 euros per bottle you can do the maths. His wine is both at the burgundy and premier cru level of classification. The grape variety of the region is pinot noir so the wines are characteristically light and flavoursome. They also have a level of complexity. We tried two of Phillipe’s burgundy wines and looked at the new vintage. We also tasted a white wine, marssanay (named after a local village): it was made from chardonnay but the terroir makes it so different from the chablis from 2 days ago.
Philippe had finished picking only two days before and the wine was busily fermenting in the winery. As it was raining today he has pleased to have finished.
Philippe was a good speaker. He had a wicked sense of humour and quite self-deprecating in regard to his life as a farmer. What was unshakable was his commitment to producing high quality wines each year. His production of wines is quite traditional and caters for the French market so there will be no screw tops here because the French would not buy his wine if he did.
Later in the evening we visited a small chateau for dinner (terrine of foie gras, pork spare ribs with a burgundy sauce and a chocolate dessert) which was matched by local wines. It was classy and the food was very well presented.
During the excursion I accompanied Nancy, an 80 something American from California, who was absolutely amazing: she is writing a family history which goes back to Ireland in the 1700’s; has been a primary school principal in Nicuragua; studied in France for 5 years and is fluent in the language. She is sharp as a tack and driven to complete a number of other projects before she departs this life. She has wisdom; stories illustrated by anecdotes; an excellent knowledge of pedagogy and learning.