Unraveling the Complexities of Burgundy

The term "Burgundy", in the minds of the American masses, has come to denote generic red wine. Mediocre restaurants often use the term to signify their mundane house red. But this is analogous to using the term "Coke" to designate all cola drinks.

Yet everyone knows that Coke tastes different than Pepsi, which in turn differs from the supermarket brand cola. For the cola connoisseur, only Coca-Cola is real "Coke." Such is the case with Burgundy.

REAL Burgundy is wine made from within the boundaries of the Burgundy region of France. Red Burgundy is made from the pinot noir (PEE-noh NWAHR) grape and white Burgundy from the chardonnay grape.

In France, wines are named for the location they hail from, not the grape as in America. Wine made from the pinot noir grape anywhere else in the world, even in France but not from Burgundian vineyards, is NOT Burgundy.

The point is not that French wine is better, (even though I think it is); the point is that the wine from a grape grown in one location will taste different from the same grape grown elsewhere.

You can judge which one is better, but there is a difference. Cigars from Cuban grown tobacco taste different than Honduras. Even Cuban tobacco seed grown in another country is not quite the same as it's primordial ancestor.

Identical fish from different waters will have a discrepant flavor. A wild turkey culled from the woods of Pennsylvania will not taste like Shoprite's.

The reason for these differences is what the French call terroir (the-RWAHR). Terroir is basically the microclimate from which a natural entity develops.

The mineral composition of the soil, the chemical properties of the rain, climatic factors, amount of sunlight, altitude, water drainage, pollution, and countless other subtle elements can all influence the final product.

This is why we don't grow oranges in Vermont. And if we did the abbreviated growing season would certainly reap havoc on their taste.

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