An Afternoon in Beaune

We are in the heart of Burgundy - the city of Beaune (pronounced "bone"). This ancient city is built around the wine industry. Like the Napa of France.

We started by visiting the most famous landmark in Beaune - the Hospices de Beaune. It was built in the 15th century as a hospital for the poor and needy. The building is distinctive for its glazed tile roof.

An important wine auction is held here every autumn. The auction used to wield such importance that it established the price of wines from Burgundy for the entire year.

Then we visited the cellars of Domaine Joseph Drouhin, deep under the streets of Beaune. We were led by Veronique Boss-Drouhin, one of the four children currently running the business and the head winemaker for Domaine Drouhin (the winery they own in Oregon).

This is one of the largest wine operations in Burgundy (we will visit the winery itself later in the week) and one of the oldest wine cellars. There is a great history to the cellars and how they were protected from the Germans in WWII. A chapter in the book "Wine and War" is devoted to how the people in Beaune saved their valuable wine.

We made our own history with a glorious tasting of several wines in the cellars, followed by another gastronomic feast prepared by Conn on the barge with Veronique as our guest. See our wine blog for the menu and list of wines served.