The Romans began most of the great wine producing regions in the Old World and of course Burgundy is no exception. There is evidence of vineyards in Burgundy dating back to the third century B.C.; the Romans were quite knowledgeable about grapes and viticultural techniques - and this was passed on the Burgundy winemakers. Again, similarly to the rest of France, Christianity saved the vineyards at the fall of the Roman Empire - it was the Churches and Monasteries which continued to uphold vineyards and winemaking until Medieval times when urban life began again and wine became a trade and part of the economy, as it had once been in Roman times.
The beginning of the remarkable reputation Burgundy has for producing great wines was during the 14th century when its wines were popular with the popes in Avignon (South of France). In an effort to maintain high quality, the then Duke of Burgundy Philip the Bold, issued a decree that soils should not be over-fertilized and that Gamay (a very high yielding grape) could no longer be used, but rather, high quality low yielding grapes (such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as we see today). This ensured the excellent standard of Burgundy wines, which were already competing against Bordeaux - a region from where wine could easily be exported due to the Garrone River and Atlantic Ocean, so their wine trade was booming!
The French Revolution in 1789 was the next great change for the Burgundy region. The social order of France, in general, was upturned and the vineyards of Burgundy were fragmented - what were once great estates had now become small lots. These lots became even more fragmented under Napoleons law, as we shall see in the next article.
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