FrenchDuck’s databank
21 Côte d'Or

This year sees the 147th Auction of the wine of the Hospices de Beaune - which, whilst it may look like an opportunity for a host of fat cats and celebrities to indulge in lots of great Burgundy and sumptuous food, does serve a more serious purpose. Firstly, it is a charity event, raising money for good causes, for the local charity hospital and often for childrens charities - and in 2006 they raised over €200,000!
Secondly, it serves as a guide to Burgundy prices for the year, not in absolute terms but more as an inidcator of prices rising or falling.

The 2007 auction will take place at 2.30 pm, on Sunday 18th November, in Beaune’s covered market, as is traditional. The directors of the Hospices de Beaune have asked Christie’s to organise the next four sales, up until 2010. Christie’s will continue its pursuit of the goals set with the Hospices, to renew and expand the international renown of the wine auction, attracting members of the public, and professionals of the wine trade, to bid from around the world. The 2007 auction will also benefit from the new, on-line auction service, CHRISTIE’S LIVE™

The Auction is the centre piece of a three day celebration of Burgundy wines, otherwise known as “Les Trois Glorieuses” (the Three Glories) which starts on Saturday with a serious banquet at Clos Du Vougeot hosted by Les Chevaliers du Tastevin (brotherhood of the tasting bowl) and culminates Monday lunchtime with the “Paulée de Meursault” a combined lunch and tasting to celebrate the end of the harvest in this famous appellation which produces the best white Burgundy.

more info on Hospices de Beaune
more info on Clos du Vougeot
more info on Meursault

Most French autoroutes between major towns and cities are toll motorways, which whilst often offering fast and uncrowded dual-carriageways, can nevertheless add significantly to the cost of a trip through France - e.g over €90 (over £60) on a one-way trip from Calais to Nice (1226km of motorway driving about 760 miles).

However there are significant sections of autoroute which are toll free - most often these are around major towns and Cities (Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon etc).

In the North, the A16 is toll-free from Boulogne (J29) to the Belgian border (J36) via Calais and Dunkerque. The A25 from Dunkerque (J20) to Lille is free, so you can reach Lille from the main Channel ports without paying a toll!. Also all routes from Lille to the Belgian border.
The following autoroutes are toll free (as at September 2007)
A16 (part of the Autoroute des Estuaires (estuaries)) from Boulogne-sur-Mer (J29) to the Belgian border(J36)
A20 (L’Occitane) from Vierzon (J6 junction with A71) to Brive-la-Gaillarde (J53) via Chateauroux, Argenton and Limoges
A25 from Dunkerque (J20 with A16) to Lille
A28 from Abbeville (J1) to Rouen (J14)
A30/A31 (Autoroute de la Vallée de la Fensch) from Thionville (J1) to Toul (J12) via Metz and Nancy
A38 from Dijon (J33) to Pouilly-sur-Auxois (J24 and the junction with the A6)
A63 (Autoroute de la Cote Basque) from Bordeaux to Bellin-Bellet (J20)
A64 (la Pyreneenne) from St Martory (J20) to Muret (J25)
A68 (la Tarnaise) from Monastruc (J3 NE of Toulouse) to Albi (J11) via Gaillac
A75 (la Meridienne) from Clermont-Ferrand (J15) to Pezenas (J59) (except for the Millau Bridge) via Issoire
A77 (Autoroute de l’Arbre (trees)) from Pouilly (J26) to Nevers (J37)
A84 from Caen (J46) to Rennes (J25) via Avranches

Dijon (21 Cote d’Or, Bourgogne) has its Vine Festival at the end of August, which is not just about wine.
The medieval city combines a wine festival as the wine harvst approaches with an annual celebration of world folklore. 2007 see the 59th festival which will include performances throughout the city by folk musicians from around the world. A craft fair and a grand public tasting of the local Burgundy wines should make Dijon an exciting place to be for the week.
For more info see www.fetesdelavigne.fr

From Semur-en-Auxois (21 Cote d’Or, Burgundy) to Bourg-en-Bresse (01 Ain, Rhône-Alpes) - passing through the heart of the Burgundy vineyards (Givry, Rully) down through the Maconnais and finishing at the Chicken Capital of France (see “The fourth Gastronomic Wonder of the World?”
For more info on the Tour de France 2007 see www.letour.fr or UK Eurosport where there are some good interactive maps of the route.

Beaune, Burgogne - see www.frenchduck.com

The appellation system in Burgundy get confusing – whereas elsewhere in France an appellation usually covers quite a wide geographical area, in Burgundy an individual plot of land can be classified as a separate appellation. So for example in Meursault, one of the best white wine areas (Chardonnay) with some pretty good Pinot Noir reds, the following are the individual appellations:-

La Barre et le Clos de la Barre.
Les Casse-Tête.
Les Charrons.
Les Chevalières.
Les Clous.
Les Corbins.
Les Criots.
Le Cromin.
Le Limosin.
Les Luchets.
Les Marcausses.
Le Meix-Chavaux.
Les Millerands.
La Monatine.
Le Murger-de-Monthelie.
Les Narvaux.
Les Pellans.
Les Pelles.
Le Pré-de- Manche.
Les Rougeots.
Les Terres-Blanches.
Les Tessons.
Les Tillets.
La Velle.
Les Vireuils.

For more info see http://www.ot-meursault.fr/meursault/fr/lemeursault.htm