June 26-27, 2012: Beaune and our last day of class in Cluny

On Tuesday, we visited Beaune! Our first stop was at the Wine museum.  Here we explored the history of wine making and its impact on French culture. There were some interesting films of how the barrels to hold wine are made. I was surprised at how labor intense the process is! Additionally, we also took a look at the old bottles of wine and how they were made. I learned that at the bottom of the bottle, there’s a part that comes up into the bottle. This was done in order to catch the sediment so that it doesn’t appear in your glass of wine! The bottles today still have that similar construction.

 The outside of the museum

 The old wooden tanks used to keep the wine

 Baskets used for carrying the grapes

 Bottles! In the 3rd one from the left especially, you can see the raised part at the bottom of the bottle

Afterwards, we visited the Les Hospices de Beaune, which is a medieval hospital. The roof construction was phenomenal and very colorful. It was founded by Nicolas Rolin and his wife, Guigone de Salins, in 1443. This hospital was funded through the wine trade in Burgundy, and each year in November, they hold a charity wine auction.

 The beautiful tile roof!

 The floor, which has the letters N and G on the tile, for Nicholas and Guigone!

The kitchen

We then had lunch and explored the town for a little bit. Afterwards, we visited the Patriache wine cellars. This wine cellar houses over 3 million bottles of wine! It was astounding how big the cellar was. I was also astonished that some of the bottles cannot be opened and enjoyed until after a certain amount of time after it was made. There was one type of wine that couldn’t be opened until 2094! 

 The wine on the left couldn't be opened until 2020, and the wine on the right couldn't be opened until 2094!

On Wednesday, we had our last class at Cluny Sejour with Dr. Haggblom. We wrapped things up by talking about how salt is made, how bacteria convert the whey to methane (which was done at the Gougry cheese factory), and the Rumen of the cow. At this time, I finally came to grips with the fact that my trip to France was going to be ending soon. However, I tried to not let that make me too sad, and instead, I used it to make sure that I made the most out of the final days that were left in France.