Our Burgundy Winemakers

The Burgundy region of France has been producing what are widely considered to be the world’s finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for nearly a thousand years. Even though the distance from Chablis in the north to Beaujolais in the South covers several hours driving, the vineyards of Burgundy cover a relatively small area (only about 13,500 acres of vines in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or, as opposed to Bordeaux’s 235,000 acres or California’s 515,000.) Oregon is nearly identical in size to Burgundy with about 13,700 vineyard acres planted.

As in Oregon, most of the winegrowers and producers in Burgundy are small, family operations. The average estate size is about 18 acres, enough to produce about 2,500 cases of wine each year. Those 18 acres are often split into 10 or more tiny parcels of vineyards scattered around several different vineyards and villages — so production of each wine is often only a few hundred cases or less.

While it can seem quite complicated, even perplexing at times, in reality Burgundy is fairly simple to decipher.

click on any image or name to read more about our Burgundy winemakers