Beaune

June 26, 2012

Beaune, North to Cluny, is situated in the Côte d'Or department and home to wine négociants. Négociants are like distributors, who buy and accumulate wines from smaller vinters and then sell them under their own name. 

The morning bus ride was cold and rainy and involved a lot of sleeping.

Rainy morning of Beaune

Rain does not deter tourists or students from documenting their trip

 We visited a wine museum that contained lots of things. They were good and relevant things, and it was exciting for a nerd such as me to finally see in person the historical wine-related objects that we learned in class:

Old structures and wine presses

A Greek pot-thing which is probably related to wine

I'm not entirely sure what this is, but it is possibly a statuette of the patron saint of gardens/vineyards/agriculture

Old little vineyard boots

Grape-baskets!

Barrels! There was a good documentary about barrel-making playing in the museum

Old, old wine bottles

Also not to be missed, the tapestries famous in the region

 Our next destination was the historical Hospice de Beaune, an almshouse founded by Nicolas Rolin in 1443. It also served as venue for annual wine auctions that brought in money and fame to the region.

The Hospice's beautiful tiled roofs; they were a later addition, though

Hospice interior 

 Lunch-time ensued, and followed by a stroll through town. Beaune is decidedly larger and more tourist-oriented than Cluny.

Hunks of beautiful nougat. Tragically, I forgot to buy some

 The next agenda had us descending into the depths of a wine cellar filled with thousands of aging wines from various times. It was quite the spiritual experience.

Obligatory tourist shot

Wine barrels

The chapel in the Patriarche Wine Cellars

Within the cellars

Slurp

- Louisa Lee