Harvest Time in Burgundy
We decided to take a short break in Burgundy. The 2009 brochure had gone out to
corporate customers, the new web site was nearly ready for the Christmas season, our
youngest son, Tom, starts university this month, Hay Hampers has been trading for 25
years and we celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary on 14th September. A perfect
time for a short break in the vineyards of Burgundy.
We arrived on Saturday 5th September at Gilly les Citeaux to stay in the Hotel
L’Oree des Vignes which is run by Caroline Ciamos and Agnes Billaut. It is on
the opposite side of the roundabout from Clos Vougeot. A wonderful converted
farmstead, which was a grange of the Cistercian Abbey at Citeaux. Christian
Ciamos of Corton Andre at Aloxe Corton had very kindly booked us into a
fabulous restaurant in Flagey-Echezeaux in the next village. Restaurant Simon
is considered to be one of the best restaurants in the Cote d'Or. The foie
gras and fillet de boeuf chantilly were outstanding with a bottle of Savigny
les Beaune.
Sunday 6th September we had a wine tasting of 17 top Burgundian whites and reds
in the cellar at Hotel L'Orees des Vignes with Christian Ciamos and selected wines to
bring back for our new wine list. In the afternoon, we met up with our neighbours
from Corby Glen, who are selling their house in the Chalonnais, at Citeaux Abbey.
The two hour tour of this Cistercian Abbey showed us a simple way of living in tune
with nature, in a life of silence, prayer and work of your hands. We had tasted the
delicious mellow Citeaux cheese at Restaurant Simon, so purchased a round cheese from
the Abbey shop.
On Monday, our neighbours, Ken & Maureen, took us on a tour of the countryside
in the Chalonnais. They took us to the amazing community at Taize, which has
over 5,000 young people staying in tents each week during the summer. This
community was set up by Brother Roger during the Second World War to help
refugees and for world unity, peace, forgiveness and reconciliation. We also
visited the ruins at Cluny.
The autumn sunshine was glorious. So on Tuesday we set off to explore the main
villages in Beaujolais, and to have a picnic in the vineyards watching the
grape harvest being collected. We visited St Amour, Julienas, Morgan, Fleurie,
Morgan, Moulin a Vent and Chenas. The harvest was in full flow at the
Cooperative in Chenas with tractors rushing in from all directions over a 5 km
radius with carts overloaded with black juicy grapes. The grape pickers are a
fun loving crowd the world over and love to pose for photographs clutching
bunches of newly picked grapes. It takes one and a half vines or just over 7
bunches of grapes to make one bottle of wine!
We headed north again on Wednesday to the Cote de Nuits to collect our wine
from Corton Andre. We also visited the museum at Chateau Savigny les Beaune,
which is full of vintage racing cars, motor bikes and aeroplanes. We then
picked up some bread, ham and cheese at Leclerc in Beaune and headed up into
the hills above Pommard for a picnic. We choose a quiet spot, with a
magnificent view of the vineyards, in beautiful sunshine – a glorious peaceful
moment. A tractor and cart full of grape pickers arrived, with another lot
in a van and our quiet picnic soon becomes the scene of much merriment and
amusement as we are swept up into the harvest. In the afternoon we visited
Jacque Delannoy, a very long time friend and supplier, at Vincent Sauvestre
near Meursault and we enjoyed a wonderful meal together in Beaune.
On Thursday 10th, we helped our neighbours, Ken and Maureen pack up their house
and move their belongings back to the UK. They took us out for a memorable
feast at a restaurant in Buxy in the Chalonnaise, which was seven courses with
great wines.
On Friday and Saturday, we travelled back with our wine and our neighbour's
belongings. We were stopped near Nuits St. Georges by customs searching for
smuggled cigarettes. Thank goodness they accepted our documentation and did not
make us off load everything! It is now back to the UK and the excitement of
the Christmas season and a few days dieting before we consume any more good
food and wine!