It’s a very special final four days of this tour and firstly we drive from Lake Geneva to Beaune via the enormous ruined Benedictine monastery of Cluny and on through the very pretty countryside, past the Village of Chardonnay and arrive in Beaune in the later afternoon. Usually we are driving past what will become a familiar sight for the next few days – row upon row of grape vines on both sides of the road. However, this year we arrived in a thunder-storm and we were hard pressed to see the road signs on our arrival into Beaune. The Medieval town is still surrounded by the city walls and just beyond is the ring road which our hotel is on. It’s an easy walk in to the shops, restaurants, bars historical sites and perfect for meandering through the narrow cobbled streets.
You can be rest assured you will see menus with plenty of Ham Persille (ham and parsley terrine), escargot( snails), eggs poached in red wine with mushrooms, beef bourguignon with mushrooms and bacon, Bresse chicken stuffed with local epoisse cheese and served with noodles. Plus, always a selection of the most divine french cheese and of course a dessert including blackcurrants.
Dinner on the first night was a typical Burgundian menu at Caveau des Arches and it set the scene, for the quality of food and wine we were to expect during our stay. It is not difficult to choose a wine when the choice is Chardonnay or Pinot Noir but, when the wine list is like a bible, finding my way around it was very daunting. Sommeliers are knowledgeable and helpful thank goodness, even if I do feel my budget is rather miserable given the selection on offer. However you can guarantee all the wine is delicious.
By the end of four days my group have become familiar with the classification of wine in this famous region, know why its expensive and understand the complexity of the terrior and how it produces some of the most extraordinary rare wines in the world.
We started our second day in the inspiring clos of Jean Louis to see how Hubert and Claire’s dogs sniff out the illusive truffles. I could stay here all day and I am amazed at the growth on all the trees in the trufferie, grape vines and fruit trees from last year. The remainder of the day was spent in an underground cellar in the village of Pommard taking part in Claire’s workshop. Understanding and tasting a variety of truffles I must say put a few people out of their comfort zone, especially since they had to prepare these expensive fungi specifically to Claire’s instructions.
Jean Louis is Claire’s older brother and he passed his infectious enthusiasm onto my group a couple of days later – hosting an afternoon trip into Cote de Nuit, the grape growing region north of Beaune. He had us all singing, waving our arms and clapping a famous wine drinking song. The countryside is absolutely stunning. Pickers were working in groups carrying huge trays on their backs full of grapes as the harvest is in full swing. Historically the Cistercian monks were responsible for creating the complex plots of vines which is now still followed by the many landowners. Colourful maps explain where the expensive Grand Cru plots are in relationship to Premier Cru on the slopping hillside and that the Village and Bourgogne grapes are further down on the flat.
We visited wine cellars which honeycomb their way under all the villages and towns in Burgundy, some as old as the 12th century. We taste wines at two cellars, we visit the Cistercian monks ancient huge old wine presses at Clos Veugeot and walk amongst the rows of the most expensive wine in the world ‘Romany Conte’ … and since they had completed the picking we could gorge on the little left over bunches of the sweetest little grapes I have ever tasted. We spent an hour and half with the best guide Annie at Hotel Deiu (the historic Hospice in the Centre of Beaune ) and had plenty of time to sit, relax and enjoy the odd glass of Kir – the delicious blackcurrant and wine tipple of Burgundy in the beautiful sunny late afternoon.
I love these four days and it is the perfect end to my Italy / France tour 2018 for the 6th Year. I have once again had a group of happy, accommodating, fun-loving travellers The tour comes alive with my dear friend Charles’s knowledgeable understanding of the history, culture and geography of our tour route, along with his witty comments. I am forever grateful to my local guides who provide not only their knowledge but are such loveable personalities and are so appreciated by everyone.
Many people missed out on this years tour because the tour was full . Please E mail me if you want details of the 7th Italy / France tour – 2019