Complex Numbers

Bad to the Beaune

The association of Dijon with mustard is universally-known and inescapable, but I'm not here for the condiment; I'm here for the wine, because Dijon is also part of Burgundy. As I mentioned a few entries back, Burgundy (or Bourgogne) has a connection with wine that's also universally-known and inescapable.

Oddly enough, despite it lending its name to a particular shade of red (as detailed in an entry I did a while back, "Burgundy" ), the majority of the wines here are white; mostly Chardonnay. It makes a much better wine here than in the US.

In that entry, from way back in February, I said, "Incidentally, these blog entries are inadvertently helping me plan a trip to France." Et voilà, here I am.

But back to Beaune, which isn't actually pronounced like bone: it's south of Dijon and the road takes you through a multitude of vineyards and wine-producing villages. There, while others in my tour group grabbed snacks and ran through some historic sites, I dined at a very French restaurant. Well, I say "very French," but they have an English-language menu, so they do cater to tourists.

We only had two hours in Beaune, and, ideally, I'd have liked to seen the old stuff as well as enjoyed the food, but I couldn't do both. Faced with a choice, it will always be, in order: beer, wine, distilled spirits, food, history. And this place, naturally, offered wine with the food, which included the famous dish bœuf bourguignon. That dish is, of course, another famous cultural export of Burgundy.

The truly amazing thing, though, is this: the meal started with an apéritif, then an entrée with a glass of white Burgundy (recall that in French, entrée is like appetizer), then the bœuf bourguignon with a glass of red Burgundy, and, finally, a cheese plate. I was shocked that it only cost about 80 euros.

So, yeah, I wish I'd seen more of old Beaune, but I have my priorities. I hope to make up for it today by seeing some historical crap here in Dijon. And maybe pick up some mustard.