BEAUNE EST BON
[Say “Bone eh Bone.” Except swallow the hard ‘n,’ in a typical French style!] The city of Beaune is good!
The Bourgogne is an area of France that Americans call “Burgundy.” It’s about a three hour drive from Clermont-Ferrand, through the mountains and Lyon, in the east-central region of France. Not only are Burgundy wines grown and bottled there, thousands of vineyards of pinot noirs, Chardonnay, Chablis, and Beaujolais are all in this climat as well.
Vineyards…as far as the eye could see, for miles and miles and miles
And the châteaux! Incredible! They are very, very beautiful, on gorgeous estates that are straight out of French postcards. And don’t forget about the extraordinary cellars: the vaulted cellar beneath Château de Meursault, where we sampled the goods, is superb and the largest in Burgundy.
Did we sample? Oh, yeah. Nice. Although I personally prefer a hearty Bordeaux (another French wine region trip, still to be taken) or a Pouilly Fusse (a Chardonnay), the burgundy wines of the côte de Beaune are amazing!
You know, it just doesn’t make sense NOT drink the wine in France, when the glass of wine at the brasserie or cafe costs less than a glass of Coca-Cola! #nobrainer
And the VOCABULARY…we’ve been learning a whole new set of adjectives to apply to wine, in English and in French. Wine can taste like or be: jammy, graphite, diesel, fruity, smoky, astringent, pears, petroleum, green pepper, black pepper, thin, angular, zippy, austere, opulent, fleshy, buttery, fleshy, exotic, clean, granular, powerful, and chewy! CHEWY? Yes, Chewy!
And did you know there are not ONE but THREE ‘noses?’ Upon the pour, you smell the wine in the glass – before you oxygenate it – then you swirl the wine in the glass and breathe in deeply again. The third ‘nose’ is after the wine is gone – and you literally inhale the aroma again to compare against the first two noses! 
Please don’t do this in your local cafe – but if you are at a tasting, it is perfectly acceptable and customary to take the first mouthful, swish the wine around your mouth, and spit into the receptacle. You may laugh, but I had to turn around and spit with my back to the group – I just couldn’t bring myself to SPIT in front of all those people!!! My mama taught me SOME Southern manners!
We also had a picture perfect lunch at an outdoor cafe, straight out of a French countryside daydream. L’ambiance, tranquil dogs lying under tables, awnings with French names of the family proprietors proudly displayed – so wonderfully shishi. And it included a new vocabulary lesson for me on what carpaccio means – which I found out after I agreed to have the ‘plat du jour’ without knowing what it was. 18 months ago I wouldn’t be caught dead having this for lunch. I should get points for being able to eat about half of it.
The market in full swing 
Thinly sliced raw beef… 
If you want to see the pictures of Beaune and the region Bourgogne, you can click here.
Wishing you a wonderful day,
Mindy
PS – Happy, happy birthday, Lisa! And many more, person!
Your adventures are inspiring and a breath of fresh air! Thank you for including us on your journeys! Love and miss you terribly!
And love and miss YOU, Randy! Looking forward to seeing you!!