And as often happened in these time of viruses, staying at home, and looking at older posts in my blog, often realised there were many instances where I have not included some pictures. Therefore, this is as good a time as any to remedy that, and bring out some nostalgia pictures from my vault of times well spent with family. And we came to some curiosities of Beaune!!
One of these nostalgic pictures included one taken way back in our visits to France from the USA visiting for the first time the town of Beaune, in the Côte d’Or dept 21 of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region of my belle France.
While in town of course, we needed to go for that Burgundian wine and some history books we enjoyed on wines too. There is no better place than the Athenaeum just across from the Hospice de Beaune(see post). The Athenaeum, 5 Rue de l’Hôtel-Dieu.
The global temple of “enoliterature”. Such has been considered the Athenæum de Beaune since its creation in 1989 by André Boisseaux, the visionary founder of the Patriarche group. Taken over in 2012 by the Chalonnais Vincent Clément, this extraordinary bookstore facing the Hospices is facing a new destiny, Under Patriarch, wine represented barely 10% of turnover. They now have 750 m2 in use, soon to be a thousand in total, and the rate has risen to 25% thanks to 120 partner domains. The books cover 40%, the rest being represented by various and varied objects, from Zalto glasses to the brazier through skateboards, You find 120,000 references, 20,000 books including 3000 on vines or wine, Taste some wines in the air-conditioned room. A VIP area open to connoisseurs offers excellent Burgundy wines. Webpage : https://www.athenaeum.com/boutique/141/les-vins/
Another nostalgic favorite of ours and no longer there (here for the memories) was the Les Caves du Chancelier at 5, rue Ziem ; it is now the Le Conty. The current owner has worked for various Michelin-starred restaurants and opened his first restaurant “le Paradoxe” in Beaune in 1996 with his wife. Since 2005 they have created “le Conty” . webpage for reference :http://www.leconty.fr/
As you can see quite a bit of changes on the above from where we first came here circa 1995, Les Caves du Chancelier, le Paradoxe, and now le Conty! Let me take advantage of this post and tell you a bit more about Beaune and its wine trade.
The city of Beaune is a wonderful place to be and with already several posts on it in my blog, However, found old nostalgic pictures that I like to include in my blog, my life’s history, Hope you enjoy it as I. Beaune has a charming historic center that is very pleasant to explore on foot. Leaving the Hospices, admire the Place de la Halle, its market ,and enjoy the entertainment if it’s market day, Saturday morning) then stroll through its cobbled streets, We always came here by car and never a problem finding parkings, the best were Parking des Tanneries and Parking Madeleine which offers free parking and one paying the Parking Louis Véry.
Beaune is a Villages appellation of the Côte de Beaune obtained in 1936. With 84 appellations, your exploration has only just begun! Located in the heart of the Côte de Beaune, between Savigny-lès-Beaune to the north and Pommard to the south, this appellation includes 42 Premiers Crus, i.e. 70% of the vineyard. In the north, the wines are intense while in the south, they are more flexible and rounder. The rarer white wines are made from Chardonnay. They deserve to be tasted young, on the fruit. After 3 to 5 years of aging, they will develop fatty and soft. The red wines of Beaune, made from Pinot Noir, are quite powerful and have a rich aromatic palette supported by fairly elegant tannins. Often full-bodied and spicy, these are wines that can keep well and can even wait 20 years for some.
Generally the reds are powerful but with roundness, it has the flattering and emblematic aromatic strength of Pinot Noir in Burgundy. The tasty roasts of pork, beef and braised veal will be delighted with a wine from the Côte de Beaune appellation, because their aromatic strength is on par with this wine. Its flattering roundness will soften meats in the mouth. The Côte de Beaune appellation will be equally popular in the company of soumaintrain, munster and chaource cheeses, For the Côte de Beaune appellation, in white: the emblematic roundness of Chardonnay on a background of liveliness and lemony aromas will be the privileged partner of poultry in white sauce, but also pasta and seafood risottos, without forgetting the multitude paired with steamed or poached seawater fish. Cheeses: Comté, Beaufort, Gruyères and goat cheeses. Yes !!!
The city of Beaune and its history/heritage: https://www.beaune.fr/ma-ville/son-histoire/
The Beaune tourist office on its wineries: https://www.beaune-tourism.com/tasting/wineries
There you go folks, a nice family momento of previous travels to our belle France circa August 1995! Hope you enjoy the trivia as well as I. Beaune is nice worth a detour, and we have over the years. And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 