France Day 12 Beaune – Grapes to the Horizon

We are loving this beautiful room, so we sleep in.  Delicious traditional breakfast prepared by our host.  Time to explore Beaune.  First stop Hospices be Beaune, also called Hotel-Dieu de Beaune.  The building is one of the best examples of 15th century French architecture, its incredible multi-colored glazed tile roof is visible from virtually everywhere in town.  The hospital was started in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, a rich benefactor at the end of the Hundred Years War.  A wholly altruistic venture, this “palace for the poor” was designed and built specifically to give respectable care and comfort to the poor of Burgundy at no cost.  Operating continuously 1400s until well into the 1900s, we really liked seeing the history and evolution of medicine, pharmacy and caregiving.  Leaving, we wander through the streets of this walled city and notice the subtle differences between Beaune and Avignon.  While Avignon is more inhabited with locals, Beaune has become the mecca for wine tourists from around the globe.  Avignon restaurants tended to be more Paris café, while Beaune maintains a traditional French cuisine.  We were expecting same-same, but happily got the distinct personalities of each place. 

Next, to explore the wine villages north of town.  There are plenty of suggestions for wine trails on line and we find one that makes sense for us.  First stop Savigny-les-Beaune, population 1372, most of whom must have been involved in the grape harvest on this particular Tuesday, as almost every restaurant in town is closed.  Almost.  One tiny bistro has a small “Ouvert” sign out front.  We walk into Le Morgan, a literal one man show.  The happy, lanky man who seats us is also the waiter, bartender, chef, dishwasher and owner.  He helps us order and brings us delicious house red while we wait.  Despite other tables and other duties, his timing is excellent.  We split the goat cheese salad, fresh and light with the best cheese toast on the planet.  Mandy ordered the Troyes Andouillette Sausage, a local speciality made in the neighboring town of Troyes.  The spicy, savory pork inside is coarsely chopped, not ground, and it was served with an expertly crafted country mustard sauce.  I got the Gambas, giant prawn sautéed with and finished with lots of fresh herbs and crunchy sea salt. I love seafood, and these were beyond exceptional.  My language skills are non-existent, so when our host came to clear the dishes I used Google Translate to help me say “les meilleurs gambas jamais” because these really were the best shrimp I ever ate.  By his reaction, Mandy said I made his day, and I was glad because he really made mine.

We walk a few blocks (there only are a few blocks in the village) to Henry de Villamont.  The grapes are coming in by the trailer load, and the entire family is working under a big tent to sort and stem.  Inside, we do a tasting of both their whites and reds.  We’re no wine connoisseurs, but we really are starting to appreciate the difference among the villages and the winemakers in each village.  We pick a few nice bottles to take with.  Back on the road, we see a sign for “Panorama”. We’re tourists, we like panoramas so we turn up the hill.  There’s a small parking lot near the top and we walk the last few hundred yards.  We end up at the top of the mountain standing next to a 15 foot tall statue of the Blessed Mother, keeping watch over the entire valley.  The view is awesome, grape vines in neat rows in geometric plots stretching all the way to the horizon.  There are pods of transient farm workers harvesting and I am reminded of my hometown, The Blueberry Capitol of the World, in June when the berries are in.

Back at the B&B, we meet our innkeeper and resident winemaker Philippe for our tasting date.  We have seen inside the small winery but we are surprised when he takes us down into his very own Cave a Vin, an arched ceiling fieldstone basement lined with aging barrels.  Philippe has been in the wine business his whole life.  He and his wife started buying vines in 1984 and over time acquired the property we are standing in now.  He shows us the fields he now owns on a map of the region.  In the 1990s they decided to renovate the building into a 5 room luxury bed and breakfast.  We try two reds that are ready and they are the best we have had in France, complex, fruity, spicy and dry with a nice long finish. 

In town, we settle on F&B for dinner, a beautifully redone space right off the main square.  We meet Lara and Jason, a fun couple from Denver seated right next to us.  They are both in the restaurant business, she a manager at John Elway’s steakhouse and he a former sommelier now working towards owning his own place.  They here in wine mecca are celebrating Jason’s 40th and we have a ball talking with them.  We compare notes on wineries, restaurants and sights to be seen.  Easy to make fast friends here.