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

Saturday and Sunday Combined

June 23, 2012

Saturday and Sunday were not official class days, but they are definitely worth a mention. Apologies for lack of photographic evidence.

Saturday brought us to the French open-air market, a must have in French culture. This is where everyone gets their fresh groceries, knick knacks, and gossip. The market is a place to socialize and buy cheese, and reminds me a little of Malaysia's morning and night markets minus the fish and live poultry and suspicious street foods.

The French market

Goat cheese and goat cheese croissant. Mmmm

Look at all the colors.

Sunday had us bike for 28 kilometers to a nice picnic place and the Chateau de Cormatin. Many laughs, cows, and wobbly bicycles were had.


- Louisa Lee

Brandy-Washed Cheese and Other Things

June 22, 2012

The Gaugry Fromagerie is slightly different from Madame Bourdon's in terms of scale and, of course, cheese product. Gaugry makes cow-milk, runny, pungent Epoisses, of which some variaties are hand-washed with Marc de Bourgogne, a sort of brandy famous in the region. We got to see first-hand the washing process during our visit. 

The Gaugry fromagerie

A nice cow mural inside 

Cheeses

Washing process

The Epoisses selection in the store

Of course, we were then invited to sample some of their lovely cheese. The one with the grey rind was coated with ash.

Clockwise from stabbed cheese: Mildest to strongest

And of course some wine to go with it

Savoring bread and cheese and wine. The holy trinity of the French table 

The cheeses we ate

A nicer view of the Gaugry fromagerie front

 After an intense round of cheese-education and cheese-tasting, we proceeded to picnic in a nice patch of woods. We had melons.

Setting the table.

Melon, cheese, bread.

We followed our picnic lunch with an excursion to the Château du Clos de Vougeot, what used to be a rich plot of land for I believe the Benedictine monks. It is now the frat house headquarters of the 'Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin', or the 'Brotherhood of Knights of Tastevin'.

Beautiful view of a vineyard

Dr. Max and his obsession with documenting everything. Microbiologist, I suppose.

Touristy pose

I am doing touristy stuff

Part of the chateau 

Sundial!

An old grape press

Old wooden structures intrigue me

Old fermenting vats. The CO2 buildup would have been phenomenal in here. and the large space would have served to disperse the gas buildup 

The Brotherhood's signature Tastevins

 This turned out to be another long day, as we continued our excursion to a smaller fromagerie, the Delin fromagerie. This one made cheeses on a smaller scale, and was not opposed to making non-artisanal or AOC cheeses, choosing to experiment and make new kinds of cheeses such as triple-cream sweet cheeses and the like.

The cheese selection. Notice the triple/double creams

 

- Louisa Lee