From Monks to Microclimates: Burgundy's Long, Tasted History Burgundy does more than produce wines; it tells a layered history of monks, monasteries, and meticulous attention to place. The earliest whispers of Burgundy wine arise from medieval cloisters, where Benedictine and later Cistercian orders organized, protected, and shared a wine culture that traveled far beyond church walls. In places like the Côte d’Or, visionary monks laid out vine blocks, mapped sun‑drenched slopes, and built cellars that echoed with the rhythm of harvests. From those quiet vintages grew a reputation that would one day be measured not just in bottles, but in the map of a land where terroir became a language wine could speak across centuries. Terroir and Microclimates: The Dance of Soils and Slope What makes Burgundy’s wines so unmistakable is less a single grape than a geography. The Côte d’Or splits into a mosaic of microclimates—from sunlit, limestone-rich plots to cooler, clay‑laden pockets—each ...
Deep Roots, Wide Worlds: The Global Ties of Viticultural Traditions Wine travels. Vines were planted along ancient trade routes, and today they knit together continents with the same curiosity that makes a good glass linger on the palate. In Wine in the World, we trace how vineyards speak through soil, climate, and craft, revealing a tapestry of taste that spans famed regions and quiet corners alike. Old World Anchors From Bordeaux and Burgundy to Rioja and Mosel, Old World wine regions carry centuries of tradition in their stone cellars and hillside terraces. Bordeaux blends taught generations the art of cépage and oak; Burgundy forged terroir into a language of mineral soil and Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. In Rioja and Ribera del Duero, time is a quiet companion to Tempranillo, while the Douro whispers Port's story in Lusitanian sun. Champagne remains the theatre of carbonic sparkle and patient dosage, while Tuscany's Sangiovese gives lives to Brunello and Chianti riservas. A...