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to Europe on a budget for unusual destinations, holiday travel tips
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A TASTE OF WINE AND THE DUKES OF BURGUNDY
The Route des Grand Crus - Dijon to Beaune, France
The
Route des Grand Crus is France's thirty kilometer long wine tasting
trail through the heart of
the Burgundy wine region, the Cote d’Or,
south from from just outside Dijon to a few kilometers
beyond Beune. Private vineyards caress either side of the road through
a succession of small villages
each with a handful of small family vintners offering tasting salons
offering sales of their private stock appellations. After a visit to
the Tourism
Office
in Marsannay La Cote for a very detailed map, the first vineyard you
come to along the Route Grand Crus is the Chateau de Marsannay, whose
wines are offered in restaurants and stores around the world. Marsannay
was
the
site
of
one of the last
great tournaments of the House of Burgundy whose Dukes ruled this region
(see Dijon
- Burgundy Wine, Mustard N' Gargoyles) through
France’s historical glory days. The exhibition hall of the winery
displays an oak tree replica of an ancient tree that once stood where
the
"Tournament in Honor of Charlemagne" took place in 1443.
The
Chateau de Marsannay Winery building was built on the foundation
of a
castle
destroyed by the invading Swiss Army
during the reign of Louis XII. The vineyards of the appelation are
on the sloping hills surrounding the village of Marsannay La Cote.
The winery offers a detailed one hour long tour of the Cistercian
wine
caves underneath the Chateau 
where the constant temperature is perfect
for
wine, with explanation of the wine making process and the region’s
very particular applelation system. After tasting the vineyard’s
varieties the visitor gets to keep the souvenir glass and a good knowledge
of the region before traveling on to other tastings. The northern end
of the Grand Crus road is devoted more to red wines – Burgundy
and Pinot Noir while the south shifts to Chardonnay. Price for
the tour is 10 Euros but only 6 Euro with a leaflet which can be collected
at
the tourism office in the village. © Bargain
Travel Europe
Find the best hotel deals in Dijon
Budget Hotel Formule
1 Dijon Sud
Web Info
Chateau
de Marsannay
Cote
d'Or Region
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SEE ALSO:
CHÂTEAU
DE CHÂTEAUNEUF-EN-AUXOIS
Romance Castles of Burgundy Wine Region
WHITE
WINES OF KINGS
Route des Vins Alsace
FROM LITTLE DRIPS MIGHTY RIVERS FLOW
Following the Seine from Burgundy to Champagne
A
SAINT, A CHANTEUSE AND AN EMPEROR
Chatillon-Sur-Seine, Burgundy
WINE
AND WURST
Bad Durkheim and the German Wine Road
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