Burgundy & Chardonnay

Allow me to educate you on a little place called Burgundy. Burgundy is an area in Western Europe that is known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines. These just happen to be two of my favorite wine varietals.

In France, and other parts of Europe, they use a AOC method to label the quality of wines. Thus, a "grand cru" would be the Also, they dont just name any bottle "chardonnay" or whatever varietal the grapes are. Instead, they label their wines by village or vineyard. For example, in the map to the right you can see all the villages....Macon, buit st georges, chablis, chatillon...just to name a few... These all produce different wines. It is a bit odd, and confusing, but also it transcends a sense of orginiality into the wines and branding.

Chardonnay in Burgundy-- Most famous for Chablis, Cote de Beaune, Maconnais.
Something I learned that I thought was fascinating about Burgundy is that they use the "negociant system". After the French Revolution the land was all divided amongst commoners, thus creating fragmentation amongst the vineyards and causing over 100 different owners per vineyard. It was chaos. Thus, this system was implemented so others could buy grapes of eachother to help blend wines and make a better quality.

Main chardonnay regions of the world are also in California, South America: Argentina & Chile, NZ: Marlborough & Grisborne, Australia: Margeret River & Adelaide Hills, Hungary: produces cheap/bulk wine