Admittedly, I went overboard on photos in this post, but it would be difficult to capture this full day without all of them. Kevin and I began our day with a drive to a few of the wine villages to the south of Beaune, including Pommard and Meursault. The sunlight and fall colors in the vineyards along our driving route were breathtaking!
Later in the afternoon, we returned to Beaune for more exploration and wine tasting. A highlight of our day was a visit to the wine cellars of Patriarche Pere et Fils. This is one of the Burgundy region’s largest cellars (with 3 miles of underground passages, many of which are open for the tour). The presentation of the tastings were particularly pleasurable here. Visitors are given a small silver cup, which can be kept as a souvenir, and are allowed to walk through the dark cellars, unguided. The 13 wines for tasting are each placed individually on wooden barrels that are found throughout the passages. The visitor stops, fills his or her cup, tastes, then continues along to the next barrel at leisure. I found that this presentation encouraged visitors to mingle with one another. We ended up conversing with a family from England and then a wine enthusiast from Singapore as we tasted. Our evening ended with another stroll through Beaune and dinner. I should have taken a card to remember the name of the restaurant at which we stopped. The atmosphere here felt like a modern wine cave, with white chiseled walls and muted lighting.
Sally A. Desouza 