Grape varieties and appellations
Grape varieties
In Burgundy you’ll find four main grape varieties:
White:
- Chardonnay
- Aligoté
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Red:
- Pinot noir
- Gamay |
There are two widespread grape varieties, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producing our “prestigious” wines.
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Ever since wine has been made in Burgundy, it is the Pinot Noir on which the fame of our great red wines depends. It produces very rich and fragrant black fruit aroma wines. Pinot Noir wines are among the grape varieties that age best.
Did you know? The juice of the Pinot Noir is colourless. In Burgundy, the skins (that contain the colouring matter) are macerated in fermenting vats along with the juice, giving the wines their attractive red hue. |
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Chardonnay grapes produce exceptional white wines with mineral, flower and white or yellow fruit flavours…
Burgundy white wines from chardonnay grapes are known all over the world for their aromatic quality. |
Did you know? In contrast to many other wine-growing regions, Burgundy produces all single varietal wines, using Pinot Noir for its reds and Chardonnay for its white wines, allowing the various Burgundian terroirs to be fully expressed.
Blending is very rare and only used in the case of « Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains » (composed of min. 1/3 pinot noir and 2/3 gamay). But it represents only a tiny percentage of the total wine production in Burgundy.
In Burgundy there are many ways to discover our wines (tasting classes, table d’hôte lunch tastings, tours into the vineyards…). Choose your favourite activity by clicking on “Wine & Tourism”.
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