It is no secret that we love wine, and it’s no surprise that we should seek out vineyards of the world as we travel. Elliotte is an old hand at following us into the enotecas and tasting rooms of great wine regions, and through us, she’s vicariously experienced Niagara, Sonoma/Napa, Willamette, and the Okanagan. And all in her first eight years! She, and we, can now add the sublime regions of Bourgogne, Limoux, and Toscana to our passport of viticultural adventures.
We came to Burgundy to drink wine, of course, but also to experience a region that I loved so much from afar. In the great Sideways debate, I come down firmly on the side of the Pinot Noir.
One can know about a place, bien sur; we’d done our reading, tasted the wines beforehand. We knew a little. But to get to know a place takes some poking around. And to poke around, near geographical centre of France, is to be constantly amazed by the beauty of the landscape, the down home earthiness of the people, and the simplicity of a life flavoured by grapes.
I find that some of the most breathtaking sights of the world are punctuated by the human touch of vineyards, and the cultivated rows that roll and flow with the landscape. They belong together, a different – but related – definition of terroir.
