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Bourgogne

History of Bourgogne

Bourgogne is one of the 26 regions of France and is made up of the departments of the Côte-d'Or, Saone-et-Loire, Nievre and the southern half of Yonne. This corresponds to the old duchy of Burgundy (later called the "province of Burgundy"). The old county of Burgundy (later called "province of Franche-Comte) is not included inside the Bourgogne region but makes up the Franche-Comte region. Also, a small part of the duchy of Burgundy (province of Burgundy) is now inside the Champagne-Ardenne region.

The regions capital is Dijon in the Côte-d'Or department. This area was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th century until the late 1400's and Burgundy was a place of tremendous wealth and power and one of the great European centres of art, learning and science.

The town centre is one of the best-preserved in France - over half of the buildings are over 200 years old. There are a surprisingly large number of splendid churches and cathedrals here. Dijon was spared the destruction of various wars such as the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, despite the fact that the Prussian army invaded the city. Therefore, many of the wonderful old buildings such as the half-timbered houses dating from the 12th to the 15th century remain.

Climate of Bourgogne

Generally temperate, with abundant rain on the west side of the central range.

Cuisine of Bourgogne

Mustard

Dijon is famous for its mustard, even though nowadays around 90% of all mustard seeds used are imported, mainly from Canada. The term Dijon mustard (moutarde de Dijon) designates a method for the making of mustard. Traditional Dijon mustard is particularly strong.

Famous Burgundian dishes include coq au vin and beef bourguignon.

• Coq au vin ("chicken with wine") - a fricassee of chicken cooked with wine. Older roosters are traditionally used as they contain a lot of connective tissue, which creates a richer broth when cooked. Nearly all recipes other than those altered for low-fat diets start with lardons, or their more available substitutes, unsmoked bacon or pancetta. A full bottle of red wine is used and brandy may be added.
• Beef Bourguignon - a well-known traditional French recipe. It is essentially a type of beef stew prepared with cubed pieces of beef stewed in red wine (preferably a full-bodied wine such as Burgundy), generally flavoured with garlic, onions, carrots, salt pork, and a bouquet garni, and garnished with pearl onions and mushrooms.

Wine of Bourgogne

Dijon reigns over some of the best wine country in the world. Many superb vineyards producing vins d'appellation contrôlée are within 20 minutes of the city centre. Burgundy is home to some of the most expensive wines in the world, including those of Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Domaine Leroy, Henri Jayer, Emmanuel Rouget, Domaine Dugat-Py, Domaine Leflaive and Domaine Armand Rousseau.

The drive from Santenay to Dijon, known as the route des Grands Crus, is a wine-lover's dream, passing through an idyllic countryside of exquisite vineyards, rivers, villages, forests, and twelfth-century churches. The region's architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons (Burgundian roofs) made of tiles glazed in terra cotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in eye-catching geometric patterns.

The area and, in particular, Dijon is well known for its crème de cassis, or blackcurrant liqueur, used in the drink known as "Kir" (white wine, especially Bourgogne aligoté, with blackcurrant liqueur, named after former mayor of Dijon canon Félix Kir). The same drink made with champagne instead of white wine is known as un kir royal.

Tourism

Some of the major tourist attractions are the Gothic abbey church of Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye and the Romanesque abbey church at Saulieu, as well the Château de Bussy Rabutin at Bussy-le-Grand. The Abbey of Cîteaux, headquarters of the Cistercian Order, lies to the east of Nuits-Saint-Georges in the south of the Cote-d’or.

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