Burgundy (Bourgogne)

According to BIVB, the Romans founded the town of Autun in 52 BC after their conquest of Gaul and brought vines to the region, and the Roman elite planted many vines over the next two centuries. BIVB treats a speech by the orator Eumenes to the Emperor Constantine in 312 as the first written record of the terroir of the Bourgogne region. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the abbeys spread vine cultivation: Cluny was founded in 909 and Cîteaux in 1098, and BIVB credits these religious communities with establishing the bases of two notions central to the region's identity, the Climats and the clos. In 1395 Philip the Bold issued an edict banning Gamay and recommending Pinot Noir; BIVB notes that the ban covered the Bourgogne of the day and did not extend to the modern-day Mâconnais. In the 18th century négociants-éleveurs emerged who bought wines direct from growers and aged them in their own cellars, and BIVB names Edme Champy, who founded his maison in 1720, as the first négociant-éleveur in the region. With the French Revolution, the property of religious institutions and aristocrats was confiscated, broken up and auctioned off as national assets. La Romanée, acquired in 1760 by Louis-François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, was spared when the revolutionaries divided up the land and took the name Romanée-Conti. Classifications proposed in 1827 and 1831 were reused in 1855 by Dr. Lavalle, who established a hierarchy of Bourgogne wines. Phylloxera struck the vineyards from 1875, and in 1888 winemakers adopted grafting onto American rootstock. The first Bourgogne AOCs, among them Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, Romanée-Conti, Beaune, Pommard, Montagny, Pouilly-Fuissé and Mercurey, were adopted on 23 and 24 July 1936 and set into law on 11 September 1936. The Climats of Bourgogne were included on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 4 July 2015.

• Romans founded Autun in 52 BC and brought vines to the region (BIVB)
• Cluny founded 909, Cîteaux 1098; the religious communities established the bases of the Climats and the clos (BIVB)
• 1395: Philip the Bold's edict banned Gamay and recommended Pinot Noir (BIVB)
• 1855: Dr. Lavalle's hierarchy of Bourgogne wines reused the classifications of 1827 and 1831 (BIVB)
• First Bourgogne AOCs adopted 23 and 24 July 1936, set into law 11 September 1936; UNESCO listing 4 July 2015 (BIVB)

BIVB describes Bourgogne as 230 km long and lists its wine-producing areas from north to south as Chablis and the Grand Auxerrois, the Châtillonnais, the Côte de Nuits and Hautes Côtes de Nuits, the Côte de Beaune and Hautes Côtes de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise and Couchois, and the Mâconnais. BIVB places the region's climate at the confluence of continental, Mediterranean and oceanic influences and locates the vineyard plots at between 200 and 500 metres above sea level. Per BIVB, the Chablis region stretches over around 20 communes along the Serein Valley, and Chardonnay is used for all Chablis wines; the Grand Auxerrois is sorted into four terroirs, the Auxerrois, the Tonnerrois, the Vézelien and the Jovinien. The Châtillonnais, 70 km to the northwest of Dijon, is almost exclusively dedicated to Crémant de Bourgogne. Between Dijon and Corgoloin, the Côte de Nuits vines grow along a strip of hillside around 20 km long and in parts just 200 metres wide, mainly producing red wines, while the Hautes Côtes de Nuits vines are cultivated on two plateaus between 300 and 400 metres above sea level. The Côte de Beaune covers 20 km from Ladoix-Serrigny to the hillsides of the Maranges, and behind it the Hautes Côtes de Beaune sits on a plateau 400 metres above sea level. South of the Côte de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise is some 25 km long by 7 km wide, and to its west the Couchois was awarded the AOC Bourgogne Côte du Couchois in 2000. The Mâconnais, the most southerly terroir in Bourgogne, is a strip of vines 35 km long between Sennecey-le-Grand and Saint-Vérand. The UNESCO-listed area of the Climats includes the Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits, which extend over a 60 km geological fault line, as well as the towns of Dijon and Beaune, and brings together 142 communes.

• Bourgogne is 230 km long; vineyard plots lie at 200 to 500 metres above sea level (BIVB)
• Côte de Nuits: around 20 km from Dijon to Corgoloin, mainly red wines; Hautes Côtes de Nuits on two plateaus at 300 to 400 metres (BIVB)
• Côte de Beaune: 20 km from Ladoix-Serrigny to the Maranges; Hautes Côtes de Beaune on a plateau at 400 metres (BIVB)
• Côte Chalonnaise some 25 km by 7 km; Mâconnais a 35 km strip between Sennecey-le-Grand and Saint-Vérand (BIVB)

BIVB, the Bourgogne Wine Board, classifies the wines of Bourgogne into 84 Appellations d'Origine Contrôlée. Bourgogne has for many years claimed around 100 AOCs; BIVB states there are in fact 84, the rest made up by Dénominations Géographiques Complémentaires within the Bourgogne AOC. Those 84 appellations represent more than 23 percent of all AOCs attributed to French wines. The 7 appellations Régionale are produced across Bourgogne and include Bourgogne Aligoté, Mâcon Village, Coteaux Bourguignons and Crémant de Bourgogne. The 44 appellations Village take their names from the commune where their grapes were grown, such as Mercurey, Pommard and Nuits-Saint-Georges. Premier Cru is not a separate AOC. BIVB lists it among the additional geographical denominations, which are not separate AOCs but identify a more restricted area within the AOC that contains them: a Premier Cru is an additional geographical denomination noted in the specification of certain Village appellations, covering single plots precisely defined within that Village appellation and known as Climats. On the bottle the name of the commune is followed by the name of the plot, as in Chablis Premier Cru, Montée de Tonnerre. The 33 appellations Grands Crus express the unique characteristics of exceptional plots, and on their labels the name of the village is replaced by a single Climat name such as Corton, Montrachet, Romanée Saint-Vivant or Clos de Tart. Two Grand Cru appellations, Chablis Grand Cru and Corton, carry additional geographical denominations of their own. BIVB defines a Climat as a plot of vines, gradually and precisely demarcated, that has been recognized by its name for centuries, often since the Middle Ages, and it describes the Climats of Bourgogne as more than 1,000 individual plots. INAO names the Syndicat des Bourgognes as the organisme de défense et de gestion for the Bourgogne, Coteaux Bourguignons and Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains AOCs.

• 84 AOCs in total, more than 23 percent of all AOCs attributed to French wines (BIVB)
• 7 appellations Régionale, including Bourgogne Aligoté, Mâcon Village, Coteaux Bourguignons and Crémant de Bourgogne (BIVB)
• 44 appellations Village, named for the commune where the grapes were grown (BIVB)
• Premier Cru is an additional geographical denomination in the specification of certain Village appellations, covering single plots known as Climats (BIVB)
• 33 appellations Grands Crus, labelled with a single Climat name in place of the village (BIVB)

BIVB's key figures published in September 2024 put Chardonnay at 57 percent of the vineyard, Pinot Noir at 34 percent, Aligoté at 6 percent, and Gamay, Sauvignon and other varieties at 3 percent. BIVB notes that the wines of Bourgogne are mainly single varietal. It states that Pinot Noir was probably brought to the region when it was first planted with vines in the Roman era, and credits Chardonnay with the reputation of the great white wines of the Côte de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise, the Mâconnais and Chablis. In the Côte de Nuits, Pinot Noir is used for the majority of the region's Grands Crus, while in the Côte de Beaune the Chardonnay grape dominates from Meursault onwards. Gamay takes its name from a hamlet near Saint-Aubin on the Côte de Beaune; after the 1395 ban it found a new home in the south of the Bourgogne region, and BIVB calls it the varietal of choice for the red wines of the Mâconnais, as well as a component of Coteaux Bourguignons, Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains and some Crémant de Bourgogne. BIVB describes Aligoté as the result of a cross between Gouais Blanc and Pinot Noir; it makes the appellation Régionale Bourgogne Aligoté, and Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise, awarded AOC status in 1997, is the only Village appellation that allows a wine made exclusively from Aligoté. In the Auxerrois, Sauvignon makes the white wines of Saint-Bris, and César combined with Pinot Noir appears in some Irancy reds. Aligoté, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay can all be used for Crémant de Bourgogne, whose origins BIVB traces to 1822, when négociants of Chalon-sur-Saône with vines in Rully and Mercurey invited a young man from the Champagne region to their estates; the wine was awarded its AOC in 1975.

• Chardonnay 57%, Pinot Noir 34%, Aligoté 6%, Gamay, Sauvignon and others 3% of the vineyard (BIVB key figures, September 2024)
• Gamay: named for a hamlet near Saint-Aubin; varietal of choice for Mâconnais reds (BIVB)
• Aligoté: Gouais Blanc x Pinot Noir cross; Bouzeron (AOC 1997) is the only all-Aligoté Village appellation (BIVB)
• Crémant de Bourgogne: sparkling production dates to 1822 in the Côte Chalonnaise; AOC awarded 1975 (BIVB)

BIVB's key figures published in September 2024 count 3,489 wine-producing estates, 316 wine merchants and 16 cooperative cellars, and give the average size of a Bourgogne estate as 8.51 hectares. Decanter notes that many Burgundy producers own patches of the same vineyard rather than existing in self-contained chateaux, one of the ways the region differs from Bordeaux. BIVB describes the earlier Bourgogne wine trade as managed by courtiers-gourmets, who guided customers seeking to buy wine, and commissionnaires, who bought wine on behalf of their customers; the négociants-éleveurs who emerged in the 18th century bought wines direct from growers and aged them in their own cellars, and in the 19th century négociant-éleveur families exported Bourgogne wines. After the First World War many families sold some of their vines, and BIVB records that small-scale winegrowers bought them up, some of these plots going on to become very famous estates; from the 1930s onwards winegrowers developed direct sales. La Chablisienne, which BIVB describes as the first cooperative cellar designed to promote wine sales, was created in the Yonne in 1923. BIVB itself was founded in 1989 by the merger of the professional winemaking bodies of the Côte-d'Or, the Yonne and the Saône-and-Loire departments. The Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune, or Hospices de Beaune, was built in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor to Philip the Good, and its estate grew over the centuries as the hospital was bequeathed plots or money. The wine made from the Hospices' vineyards is sold each year at auction on the third Sunday in November; BIVB dates the auction's creation to 1859.

Primary sources (BIVB and INAO): https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/decoding-the-aocs/bourgogne-wines-decoding-the-aocs,2467,9263.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/locating-the-bourgogne-region/locating-the-bourgogne-region,3202,14763.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-climats-and-lieux-dits/climats-and-lieux-dits-in-the-bourgogne/climats-and-lieux-dits-the-ultimate-expression-of-bourgogne-terroir,2461,9256.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-climats-and-lieux-dits/world-heritage-status/the-climats-win-their-place-on-the-world-heritage-list,2466,9261.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-grape-varietals-our-colors/pinot-noir-and-chardonnay-the-bourgogne-region-s-two-noble-grape-varietals,2475,9265.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-natural-assets/climatology/an-ideal-climate-for-producing-great-wines,2483,9268.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-vineyards/chablis-and-the-grand-auxerrois/chablis-and-grand-auxerrois-the-green-gold-of-the-bourgogne-region,2469,9312.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-vineyards/cote-de-nuits-and-hautes-cotes-de-nuits/cote-de-nuits-and-hautes-cotes-de-nuits-purple-and-gold,2470,9313.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-vineyards/cote-de-beaune-and-hautes-cotes-de-beaune/cote-de-beaune-and-the-hautes-cotes-de-beaune-a-winegrowing-region-renowned-for-its-legendary-wines,2471,9314.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-vineyards/the-cote-chalonnaise-and-couchois/the-cote-chalonnaise-and-the-couchois-historical-winegrowing-terroir,2472,9316.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-vineyards/the-maconnais/the-maconnais-the-southernmost-entry-point-to-the-bourgogne-region,2473,9317.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-vineyards/the-chatillonnais/the-chatillonnais-the-kingdom-of-cremant-de-bourgogne,2474,9318.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/winegrowers-and-expertise/a-story-of-time/two-thousand-years-ago/bourgogne-born-under-the-roman-empire-raised-by-monks,2516,9383.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/winegrowers-and-expertise/a-story-of-time/the-contribution-of-the-monks-and-dukes-of-bourgogne/from-5th-to-15th-c.-wines-made-by-monks-and-trumpeted-by-the-dukes-of-bourgogne-across-europe,2517,9387.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/winegrowers-and-expertise/a-story-of-time/bourgogne-wines-at-court/the-wines-of-bourgogne-from-royalty-to-revolution-regime-change,2518,9390.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/winegrowers-and-expertise/a-story-of-time/the-golden-age-of-bourgogne/the-19th-century-the-golden-age-of-bourgogne-wines,2519,9392.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/winegrowers-and-expertise/a-story-of-time/towards-an-international-profile/the-20th-century-towards-universal-recognition,2520,9393.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/press/bourgogne-wines-last-key-figures,2333,9344.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD0xNDc1JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RGV0YWlsQ29tbXVuaXF1ZSZpZD0xNjgxJmFydGljbGVfbGliZWxsZT1Cb3VyZ29nbmUrd2luZXMrbGFzdCtrZXkrZmlndXJlc3w%3D, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-grape-varietals-our-colors/aligote/aligote-a-100-bourgogne-varietal,2799,10609.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/wine-and-terroir/our-grape-varietals-our-colors/gamay/gamay-a-varietal-with-a-southern-accent,2806,10663.html, https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/press/gallery_files/site/289/78093.pdf, https://www.inao.gouv.fr/produit/bourgogne-rouge-24536. Secondary source: https://www.decanter.com/wine/wine-regions/burgundy-wine/. Last verified 2026-09-24