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Europe · Follow the place
Burgundy
Burgundy rewards a closer look: the same grape, a neighbouring vineyard, and a different story in the glass.
The wine-coloured dot marks a general location, not legal vineyard boundaries.
A wider view to put the region in context. Both maps face north.
First, find your bearings
Where are we?
Burgundy, or Bourgogne on French labels, lies in eastern France. Its vineyards form a series of areas rather than one continuous strip: Chablis and the Grand Auxerrois in the north; the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune farther southeast; then the Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais to the south. Dijon, Beaune and Mâcon are useful reference points. The wine landscape has its own geography, distinct from the boundaries of the modern administrative region.
From the place to the glass
Start with these conversations.
Pinot Noir: follow the red thread
Pinot Noir is the principal red grape of Burgundy. Compare wines from different places while keeping grape and vintage similar. Fruit character, freshness, tannin and texture offer a more useful starting vocabulary than a fixed promise about what every village must taste like.
Chardonnay: many expressions
Chardonnay leads the white wines, from Chablis through the Côte de Beaune to the Mâconnais. Vineyard conditions, harvesting decisions, lees and the choice of oak or other vessels all influence the result. Chablis is a place and wine appellation; Chardonnay is the grape.
Aligoté, Gamay and bubbles
Aligoté gives Burgundy another white-wine conversation, including Bouzeron. Gamay also has a place in the broader regional picture. Crémant de Bourgogne introduces traditional-method sparkling wines and a different set of cellar decisions. Discovery gives neighbouring Beaujolais its own regional introduction.
Look a little closer
A region has places within it.
Chablis & the northern vineyards
Start around Chablis, near Auxerre, well northwest of the Côte d’Or. Chablis wines are Chardonnay. Their own appellation names include Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru; read the exact designation rather than assuming every bottle shares the same status.
Côte de Nuits & Nuits-Saint-Georges
South of Dijon, the Côte de Nuits is especially associated with Pinot Noir. Nuits-Saint-Georges is a village appellation with Premier Cru vineyard sites, but no Grand Cru vineyards. Some white wine is also made. Its name is an address within Burgundy, not a separate overarching region.
Côte de Beaune
Around and south of Beaune, famous white-wine villages share the landscape with important reds. Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet invite Chardonnay exploration; Volnay and Pommard invite Pinot Noir exploration. Neither colour describes the entire Côte.
Côte Chalonnaise & Mâconnais
Continue south through places such as Rully, Mercurey and Givry, then toward Mâcon and Pouilly-Fuissé. These areas widen the Burgundy conversation beyond the best-known Côte d’Or labels. Ask which appellation and vineyard a particular bottle actually names.
A name with a story
What the label can tell you.
The broad sequence is regional appellation, village appellation, Premier Cru and Grand Cru. These terms describe a regulated system tied to places; they are not universal rankings for wines from every country. A climat is a defined vineyard site with its own identity, rather than a reference to the weather. Producer and vintage remain part of the story at every level.
A small Cork Dork discovery
Let the map join the tasting.
Put a Chablis label beside a white Burgundy label from farther south. Find Chardonnay in the producer notes, then separate the place names from cellar choices. For a red-wine exercise, locate Nuits-Saint-Georges and compare a village wine with a Premier Cru from the same producer and vintage, where possible. What changes on the label before anything changes in the glass?
Small pours, your own words, and no marks for impressive vocabulary.
Where shall we wander next?
Follow a grape, wine or place.
Behind this introduction
Editorial sources checked 24 October 2026. Maps use public-domain Natural Earth data. Regional markers are approximate; no legal appellation boundary is implied.
Follow the Burgundian connection.
Dominique Lafon → From Meursault to Oregon, explore the grower’s perspective behind the collaboration, and distinguish the person, family estate and independent business.
Meet Aligoté alongside Chardonnay.
Aligoté →
Burgundy’s other white-grape conversation: freshness, Bouzeron and a distinct identity alongside Chardonnay.
Look more closely at Burgundy.
Burgundy → Côte de Nuits → Nuits-Saint-Georges is one route. Meursault belongs to the Côte de Beaune. Start with the wider Burgundy guide, then choose a closer view.
Côte de Nuits
The northern Côte d’Or district: locate the villages and distinguish geography from appellation.
Nuits-Saint-Georges
A village appellation within the Côte de Nuits, with its own Premier Cru story.
Meursault
A Côte de Beaune village: Chardonnay-led whites, named sites and Premier Cru labels.
Dominique Lafon and Thomas Savre connect the regional map with Burgundy’s Oregon collaborations.
Two Burgundy wine companions.
Meursault Wines and Nuits-Saint-Georges Wines continue from geography into the cellar. French Grape Varieties keeps the ingredients connected.
Place Meursault within the Côte de Beaune.
Explore Côte de Beaune → connects the southern Côte d’Or district with Meursault, neighbouring villages, reds and whites. Compare Côte de Nuits to the north.