2006 Corton Charlemagne AOC, Burgundy, France
Grand Cru location on the Burgundian Côte de Beaune; see under Aloxe-Corton.
The region in eastern France covers 32,000 km². The capital is Dijon, but the wine capital is Beaune. Administratively it is divided into the four départements Côte d'Or, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire and Yonne. The wine-growing region of Burgundy, however, does not correspond to this. The wooded Nièvre with its oak wood for the production of barrique barrels belongs to the Loire wine region. The department of the Rhône in the south (not to be confused with the Rhône wine-growing region), the home of the Beaujolais, has great independence. Administratively, it belongs to the Rhône-Alpes...
France is a relatively young wine-growing country compared to Greece and Italy. The first vines were brought in the 6th century BC by the Greeks, who founded Massalia (lat. Massillia = Marseille) in the southwest on the Mediterranean coast. At this time, the land that was later called Gaul by the Romans was inhabited by the Celts. A brisk trade developed and the Greeks covered the demand. When they immigrated to the Po Valley in the 5th century, they got to know Italian wine and began to import it. The later French consumed wine for a long time before they started to cultivate it themselves on a large scale. The conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar...
The white grape variety originates from France. There are around 120 synonyms, which indicate the vine's great age and worldwide distribution in almost all wine-growing countries. The most important ones, grouped alphabetically by country, are Clevner, Clävner (Alsace); Arboisier, Arnaison Blanc, Arnoison, Aubain, Aubaine, Auvergnat Blanc, Auvernat Blanc, Auxerrois, Auxois, Beaunois, Blanc de Champagne, Chardonnet, Chaudenay, Chaudenet, Chaudent, Epinette, Epinette Blanc, Epinette de Champagne, Gamay Blanc, Gentil Blanc, Luisant, Melon à Queue Rouge, Melon Blanc, Melon d'Arbois, Melon d'Arlay, Morillon, Morillon Blanc, Noirien Blanc, Pinot...
