BURGUNDY WINES. Burgundy is the name given to the red and white wines made within the limits of the "departements" of the Cote d'Or, the Saone et Loire and the Yonne, which were previous to 1789 within the province of Burgundy, in France.
The name Burgundy is not a generic term but a geographical appellation: Burgundy wine is not a type of wine that can be matched anywhere; it is, or should be, the name of no other wine but that which is made from grapes grown on Burgundian hills.
There are many varieties of both red and white Burgundies, but the best of all come from some hills, known as the Cote d'Or, which have given their name to the "departement" of which Dijon is the chief city. The hills of the Cote d'Or stretch for about 36 miles in a south-south-east direction from Dijon to Chalon sur-Saone, and are divided in two parts: the first, from Dijon to Corton, are known as the Cote de Nuits, and the second, from Corton to Santenay, as the Cote de Beaune.
The finest of all red Burgundies are those made from the vine yards of the Cote de Nuits, the best of which, as one proceeds from north to south, are the following :—Chainbertin, Clos de Beze, Clos de Tart, Musigny, Clos de Vougeot, Grands Echezeaux, Romanee Conti, Richebourg, Nuits St. Georges.
Proceeding further south, the best vineyards of the Cote de Beaune are those in the communes or parishes of :—Aloxe Corton, Pernand, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Chassagne, Santenay.
As regards white wines, the finest come from the vineyards of Montrachet, and the next best from the vineyards of Meursault.
Further south, the hills of the Cote Chalonnaise, of the Cote Maconnaise, and of the Beaujolais produce very large quantities of both red and white wines, mostly red, which are quite distinc tive, pleasant and wholesome, but none of these compare either in quality or price with the best wines of the Cote d'Or.
Few wines have suffered to the same extent as Chablis from that most objectionable form of flattery which is called imitation. The vineyards of Chablis are divided into three classes, and the best of the three yields but a small quantity of fine white wine. Some of the best vineyards of Chablis are those of La Moutonne, Le Clos and V audesir.
The colour of Chablis is of the palest possible amber, with a greenish tinge reminiscent of some of the early Australian gold; its taste has something fresh and crisp about it which is quite distinctive and exceedingly attractive. Genuine Chablis is never cheap because there is but little of it ; faked Chablis is always dear, and yet there is a lot of it. (A. L. S.) BIBLIOGRAPHY.-Andre L. Simon, Wine and Spirits (1919) ; The Blood of the Grape (1920) ; Wine and the Wine Trade (1921) ; The Supply, Care and Sale of Wine (1923) ; H. Warner Allen, The Wines of France (5924); W. M. Crowdy, Burgundy and Morvan (1926) ; M. des Ombiaux, Manuel de l'amateur de Bourgogne (Bruxelles, 1908) ; L. Mathieu, Caracteres et classification des vins de Bourgogne (Dijon, 1911).