*The beautiful tiled roofs of the Hospice de Beaune.*

Our friends Cass and Billy usually have come to France every other year. They find a place they like and they tend to go back to that corner over and over again. I feel comfortable with that way of traveling and I much prefer it to buzzing from one place to another. When some people make the effort to get to Europe they want to visit England, France, Italy and Germany all in two weeks. That kind of vacation is one from which you need another vacation to recover. There was a time when our friends spent a.lot of time in Paris. Chartres Cathedral was a favorite destination for several years. But once they discovered Brittany and Saint Malo, they were pretty much settled on that as their French home away from home. So when we moved to Burgundy, across the country from their preferred locale, I was concerned they’d never visit us again. But they generously added a few days on to their itinerary to include us. I was very pleased when Cass told me that looking at rolling green fields is every bit as relaxing for her as looking at rolling blue waves. Last time they came to visit our new home, we took them to the usual local spots, Vézelay, Chablis and Semur. This time we decided to introduce them to Beaune. the capital of the Burgundy wine region.

We drove to Beaune on a pleasant day in late October. In the Côte d'Or (Gold Coast) Beaune has been the center of wine trade since pre-Roman occupation, or 2000 years. It is surrounded by the most famous wine villages in Burgundy– Pommard, Meursault, Savigny, Puligny-Montrachet and Nolay to mention a few.

When we arrived in town we began by having a nice lunch at a local restaurant, of which there is a multitude to choose from. We picked one we had been to before and were not disappointed. Billy ordered a burger, not his usual choice, but he was quite impressed with the quality of the dish served up.

*Our busy restaurant in centre ville Beaune.*

After a brief tour of Beaune itself, we drove out of town to visit the surrounding countryside. The day was crisp and clear with emerald green hillsides and vineyards beginning to show their fall color. We particularly wanted to visit Meursault.

Years ago, when we first got married, I gave Rick a present of a case of Kermit Lynch French wine. Kermit is a character who was part of the early Berkeley gourmet ghetto, a friend and purveyor to Alice Waters. He began importing French wine in the early 70s and opened up a retail shop in 1972. In the case I bought back in the 90s, the best bottle was a white Meursault. It was so exceptional that it had lived on in our memory as the best bottle of wine we had ever drunk.

When we went to replace it in Kermit’s Berkeley shop, we discovered that a single bottle cost well over $100 and we gave up the notion of ever tasting it again. However, our friends were game for going to the source to discover if we could relive that experience with them, possibly at a reduced cost, since French wine is naturally less expensive in France than it is in the States.

We had a nice adventure in the village of Meursault and we found a shop and did buy a bottle of wine to buy. The woman who sold it to us was an expert, naturally. I asked her if the wine she was selling us was dry, as I like a very dry white in general. She looked at me with some distain and replied “No madame, not dry,” and shaping her hands into a ball, said “It is round.” She was right. The wine, which we drank for dinner that evening was round, complex and absolutely unforgettable.

Kermit Lynch has his headquarters in Beaune. Beaune also has the largest annual wine auction in France.

*View of Meursault from the hills around.*

This was the last adventure we had with our friends, before they flew back to California. Next week I will bring you up to date.

Beaune

On the Doorstep of Winter

Honfleur