After three planes; two trains, one car and 24 hours, I finally made it to Beaune. The journey, though arduous, proved worthwhile as I drove through the cobbled streets of the city, reminding me that I definitely was not in Oregon anymore. I promised myself after my last visit to Europe, that I would travel lightly, however, despite my sincere effort to travel light, I managed to schlep a six pack of wine and a suitcase that felt heavier than it should for the carefully planned contents inside. It proved to be especially cumbersome on the last leg of the trip when I had to switch trains in Lyon to head back up to Beaune. The small, crowded train was not very hospitable to my very heavy suitcase... by which point held all of the wine (9 bottles) that had traveled across the Alantic with me. Nonetheless, I encountered some very friendly people that made my travels much easier. In fact, a young man that did not speak much English carried my enormous suitcase up three flights of stairs as we ran to catch my last train. I will be forever grateful for his help, without which might have left me stranded in the Lyon train station. Traveling overseas always reminds of the generosity of the global community.
April 6th: " Mon premier jour de travail"
Today, I was introduced to Burgundia Oenologia, Kyriakos Kynigopolous's Lab. It is without a doubt a very well oiled machine. There are three Oenologists (Anthony, Aurelie P and Laurent) and two lab technicians (Melanie and Adeline), a Qualite Manager (Aurelie A) and a secretary ( Emily). It is interesting to witness the relationship between the Oenologists and the Oenologues (winemakers). Almost all of the analysis is sent to a lab as many wineries are not equipped to perform any analysis as are many of the trials. I spent the morning shadowing the lab technicians and learning the goings on of the lab. Much of the analysis is done by machine via FTIR and PCR. Which is understandable considering the number of samples that pass through the doors. Adeline informed me that during "la vendange" (harvest) they can see 200-300 samples a day. Whew! I will have to remember this as I am procrastinating over the 41 malo samples, waiting for me every other week.
Aurelie P escorted me to Tonnellerie Redmond to meet the owner, the very lovely, Madame Dubois and have a tour of the facility. It is a smaller cooperage that produces approximately 20,000 barrels per year. They still focus on Forest designated barrels and have been family owned (although not the same family) for over a century. Tonnellerie Redmond has generously allowed me to stay in their beautiful Maison in the center of Beaune. Quite literally, the Hospice de Beaune is right around the corner.
Later in the afternoon, I accompanied Anthony to a tasting at Chateau de la Cree in Sautenay. What a beautiful Chateau! We tasted 2009 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with Owner and winemaker. What a wonderful introduction to the wines of Bourgogne! They too have a cement Oeuf that they ferment Chardonnay in. Some of the Chardonnays had some reduction but were strong in acidity (j'adore!) and varied in complexity. The Pinots were lighter than the wines we have in Oregon but aromatic, fruit-centric and clean.
Unfortunately, jet lag reared its ugly head and I needed to be in bed by 6. By and By a lovely start to the trip.
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