Grand cru wines, what does grand cru mean?

Burgundy wine is in a class of its own. But it is also an art in itself. Whereas every wine region in the world has various wine estates with its own vineyards from which wine is made, the Burgundy wine region has vineyards cultivated by several wine estates: each estate makes its own wine from its share of the grapes. Thus, to know if a wine is potentially good, knowing the vineyard's appellation is not enough. The producer is just as important. In other words: a Grand Cru vineyard (Grand Cru vineyards are the best vineyards) can produce different qualities of wine.

White wine Bourgogne Chardonnay, why is it so popular?

Burgundy is renowned for its white and red wines and is among the best in the world. The white wines are made from the grape varieties Chardonnay and Aligote (to a very limited extent), the red wines are made from the grape varieties Pinot Noir and Gamay. The Chardonnay wines are among the best of their kind due to the terroir: the soil conditions combined with the perfect climate for the Chardonnay. The white Aligote wines are simpler because the grape produces less complex wines.

Major wine producers in Burgundy. What are negociants?

Some wine estates also make wine from grapes they buy from other owners. These so-called negociants can be very large: Louis Jadot and Joseph Drouhin are examples of this. They produce and sell many wines from different appellations and are among the most sold. Contrary to very small estates, such as Liger Belair and J.F. Mugnier.

What are the most expensive Burgundy wines?

Perhaps the most expensive wines in the world come from Burgundy. More than ten thousand euros is paid for a single bottle of Romanee Conti. For an old bottle from a famous year, especially in large format, the price already approaches a hundred thousand euros. The reason for this pricing is that the wine is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful wines in the world and only a few thousand bottles are made every year.

Burgundy has both red and white wines but hardly any rosé wines. Dessert wines from Burgundy are also rare. Organic wine cultivation, however, is very present.

Below you can find an overview of the most important wine regions from France. By clicking on the region, you will navigate directly to the most beautiful wines we have available from that region.

Bordeaux

Bourgogne

Elzas

Rhone

Provence

Loire

Champagne

French white wine is made from many different grape varieties. Each region has its own local grape varieties. But the most popular white wines are made from Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and, to a lesser extent, Viognier.

The following wineries can be seen as examples of highly renowned French white wine wineries:

Coche Dury

Arnaud Ente

Domaine Leflaive

Chateau D'yquem

Trimbach

Zind Humbrecht

Chateau Haut Brion Blanc

Champagne is made of three grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Champagne is a sparkling, usually white wine, however Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are purple grapes, is it possible to produce a white wine from them? It is! The grapes are being pressed directly after the harvest, so the juice will not remain in contact with the peels. This way the juices will not inherit the red colour.
Most champagnes are a blend of the three aforementioned grape varieties, however there are some champagnes made from just the chardonnay, or the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. A champagne that is solely made from the Chardonnay is called a Blanc de Blancs, and a champagne made only from the purple grapes is called a Blanc de Noirs.

The following wineries can be regarded as examples of the most renowned champagne makers:

Krug

Moet et Chandon

Bollinger

Selosse

Salon

Best of Wines has been working with French wine since 1907. Often we are asked for some culinary suggestions, which is mainly translated if we can tell you what the perfect dish is to drink the wine with. We certainly have these recommmendations and you can always come to us for advise on food pairing. We regularely have themed dinners with our team, making sure to create perfect wine-food combinations. Making these pairings is relatively easy to do good, but extremely hard to do perfect.

The most important guidelines for food pairing can easily be found on the internet. If you have a good piece of meat, you should go for a Cabernet Sauvignon, combine poultry with Pinot Noir, with more elegant meats you should drink Merlot, and combine salmon with Chardonnay. This is still very general however, because also the style of the wine makes all the difference. A Chardonnay that has been aged on wood will be full-bodied and complex, but when you drink a Chablis you will experience more freshness and minerals. These two Chardonnays will combine with completely different dishes. Also, a Bordeaux is a blend of multiple grape varieties, these basic rules hardly apply on a Bordeaux wine.

The most important rule when combine wine and food, is that both should be balanced. The one should not dominate the other. 1 + 1 should not be 2, but 3 when looking for the perfect combination. Both the wine and the food need to enhance eachother, so the food will become better with the wine, and the wine will become better with the food. Best of wines can always offer our expertise to help you find the perfect combination with your dish. Because we have - nearly without exception - drank all wines we have, we know exactly what a wine can offer and what will be the perfect match.