Our travelling art historian, Jasleen Kandhari, raises a glass to some of the finest wines known to humanity

No it’s not possible to drink the Vinésime spa products!” my masseur, Aurelie exclaimed.

I was receiving an aromatic body scrub and massage at Spa Marie de Bourgogne at Hotel le Cep in Beaune, where the Vinésime spa products include extracts of Pinot Noir grapes and blackcurrant buds in the creams and Chardonnay grapes in the bath products.

This is the ideal spa treatment to have in Burgundy, for Burgundy exerts an important influence in the world of vino.

Burgundy, aka Bourgogne, has five wine-producing regions: Chablis, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais, with around 30,000 vineyards along 150 miles, producing around 200 million bottles annually. Its unique geographical location and terroir makes it the ideal choice for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape varieties and the Climats of Burgundy have been classified as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Tearing along the Grand Cru wine route in Chablis, the capital of the great white wines of the Yonne district, in vintage deux chevaux cars, I discovered the art of wine tasting with Au Coeur du Vin’s ambassador of Burgundy wines.

“There is a four-tier wine hierarchy to Burgundian wine,” Eric explained, “Generic red wines, village appellations, first-growth vintages like Chablis premier crus and the great vintages.”

In between stops along the Grand Cru of Chablis, we savoured elegant, aromatic and complex Chardonnay wines from different appellations amidst lush vineyards, now ripe for grape harvesting and were shown chunks of limestone mixed with clay from the soil that have fossilised sea creatures mixed within as the secret behind the zesty minerality that’s the hallmark of Burgundy wines, for millions of years ago, the region was part of a tropical sea which created the limestone soils.

Burgundy wine tastings are perfectly accompanied by light, fluffy cheese balls in choux pastry called gougères, as I discovered at each wine tasting. It was interesting to visit to Domaine La Croix Montjoie, named after the crossroads of Vézelay between Chablis and Beaune to savour their range of AOC Bourgogne Vézelay white Chardonnay, red Pinot Noir, Rosé and Irancy wines produced in the vineyards and to hear about their practice of sustainable, organic and bio-dynamic viticulture and winemaking.

To discover Burgundy’s history of viticulture spanning 2,000 years, I travelled back in time at the Wine Museum in Beaune which relays the history, wine-making processes and a contemporary tapestry exhibition on the theme of Burgundy wines by French textile artists. I learnt that although winemaking in France dates back to the Romans of the 1st century AD, it was the Catholic monks that established the vineyards in the Middle Ages growing grapes for the church and the aristocratic Dukes of Burgundy.

Other regional specialities I was delighted to be introduced to include the Burgundian mustard, Moutarde Fallot, inspired by the traditional recipe of Dijion mustard, using mustard seeds and verjuice or green grape juice harvested locally and displayed at the Fallot mustard factory in Beaune. Here I enjoyed a session of diversely flavoured mustards at the Mustard Bar, including blackcurrant mustard with traces of pinot noir, gingerbread and honey mustard and even curry mustard, suitable to season Indian curries I was told, that I shall experiment with my own Punjabi curries back home.

The rich red wine, Pommard, produced in Côte de Beaune, serves well to be paired with mustard.

Delicious local cheeses served after each meal like Époisses, Brillat-Savarin and Ami du Chambertin were new to my palette although Comté reigns supreme as my favourite French cheese.

From boeuf Bourguignon, Burgundy éscargots or snails in garlic butter and parsley to oeufs en meurette or eggs poached in red wine sauce reduction and marbled ham called jambon de persille at the Michelin-starred restaurant in Beaune, La Benaton, I felt satisfied I had savoured a gamut of traditional Burgundian cuisine.

Interestingly, Burgundy boasts 33 Michelin star restaurants, one of the most of any French region.

To repose, a range of charming farmhouse inns, family-owned manors, rural cottages and luxurious hotels pepper the Burgundy landscape.

Being an art and textiles historian, I was delighted to find myself in the lace maker or ‘La Dentelle’ room at Hotel de la Beursaudière in Nitry for each room is decorated in the manner of a traditional local crafts maker’s occupation in a very charming manner.

A trip to scenic Burgundy will always delight, for in Burgundy all roads lead to good food and wine.

  • For information on Burgandy, go to burgundy-tourism.com
  • For more on travelling throughout France, go to Atout France. Go online at atout-france.fr
  • Getting around: Let the train take the strain. Go to voyages-sncf.com
  • Jasleen Kandahari is a lecturer in Indian Art and Asian Textiles at Oxford University.