Bourgogne vs Burgundy? Affordable vs $$$$?
Guess what: Bourgogne is Burgundy in French, so there’s no competition! And affordable or expensive? The region offers both! For November, #Winophiles host Cyndy Rynning takes us to Burgundy, France, to find affordable wines for the holidays. Home to eye-rolling expensive Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Burgundy (aka Bourgogne in French) also offers more affordable red wines like Gamay and sparkling wines like Cremant de Bourgogne.
Looking for affordable still or sparkling wines from the regionin an appellation with four main grape varieties Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gamay, and Aligoté, Gamay and Cremant were our obvious choices, especially when I learned about this great recipe for Wine Harvester’s Chicken from Jeff Burrows, and I picked up a Camembert to go with the Cremant, both from Trader Joes.
Located east of Bordeaux, and just north of Lyon and south of Burgundy, Beaujolais is is the home to Gamay aka Gamay Beaujolais. Wines are light, bright, fragrant, and fruity, and typically enjoyed when young as they don’t usually gain much in complexity with age. The prolific grape produces less fruit on stony, granitic soils of the crus. Grapes traditionally were pruned in a gobelet shape, not trained onto wires, but this is changing for increased mechanization.
Affordable Wines from Bourgogne
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NV La Burgondie Crémant de Bourgogne blanc Brut Reserve
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2020 Louis Jadot Gamay, Beaujolais-Villages
- Learn more about Gamay, a noble varietal from the south of the Bourgogne wine region from Bourgogne wines
Menu
- Baked Camembert with orange rind, lavender, honey
- Green salad
- Mashed potatoes
- Wine Harvester’s Chicken Adapted from David Lebovitz’s Recipe
NV La Burgondie Crémant de Bourgogne blanc Brut Reserve
ABV: 12%
SRP: $10.99
Grapes: Aligoté , Chardonnay , Gamay , Pinot Noir
purchased at Trader Joe’s
Over 10% of the wine produced in Burgundy is sparkling– aka Crémant de Bourgogne
Appearance: Extremely lively bubbles, pale lemon, once the lively bubbles dissipate there are lovely tiny persistent bubbles rising from the middle of the glass.
Aroma: Chamomile and lemon curd, bee pollen, fennel.
Palate: Simple yet pleasing, creamy textured bubbles, nice mouthfeel. Lemon lime on the palate and the finish. While it is not necessary this would make a great cocktail wine because of the acidity.
Pairing: The orange rind that Sue topped the baked brie with was absolutely perfect with the wine. It cuts through some of the richness of the cheese, and is so nice with the wine. The orange rind with the spices are a perfect match with the wine. The depth of flavor enhances the wine nicely. The chicken brings out a bit of brioche in the wine that wasn’t present prior. The sweet grapes become savory in the dish which tango nicely with the sparkling wine. This is a an affordable and satisfying meal that is nicely elevated with this affordable easy to find wine.
2020 Louis Jadot Gamay, Beaujolais-Villages
ABV: 13.5%
SRP: $18
Grapes: Gamay
purchased for $14 on sale at BevMo
Appearance: Surprisingly cloudy and dense with medium plus density.
Aroma: Sweet raspberry fruit, Bubble Yum bubble gum, raspberry vines licorice
Palate: This is not a sweet wine, but there is sweet fruit on the palate, nicely structured tannins, you can taste the stems, lengthy raspberry vine finish. Medium to light bodied. Best served at cellar temp rather than room temp. There is a bit of minerality. This easy to access wine is nicely pleasurable.
Pairing: Food changes this wine so dramatically, It loved the creamy richness of baked brie. The wine really responded to orange rind and lavender which brought out so much more fruit in the wine. I know from past experience that pate goes so nicely with this wine, however this evening we weren’t really missing anything with just our baked brie. Sue felt all of the flavors of the meal were perfect with the wine, but she would have cooked down and reduced her gravy. she felt that there needed to be more richness in the means of a rich gravy to elevate the wine.
For more affordable Bourgogne, check out these articles from the French Winophiles:
- Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys “Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken”
- Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of “Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy ‘Maître Bonhome’ Viré-Clessé” Culinary Adventures with Camilla (culinary-adventures-with-cam.blogspot.com)
- Jeff Burrows of Food Wine Click explains why we should “Look the Other Way for Affordable Bourgogne”
- Here on Wine Predator enjoy “Budget Burgundy Bubbles and Gamay Paired with Simple Baked Camembert and Wine Harvester’s Braised Chicken”
- Cindy Rynning at Grape Experiences goes “Back to Bourgogne with Louis Jadot Santenay “Clos de Malte” 2018”
Louis Jadot on the label always means a nice wine inside.
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Yes when it was the only Gamay there I knew we’d be in good hands…
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Looks delicious! I love your pairing with Cremant de Bourgogne! Yum!
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Cremant is so versatile– I hope more people discover it!
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Now you have me craving baked brie…for breakfast!
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be great for. Saturday brunch — with creaming of course!
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the brie & orange rind sounds like a great match for that Crémant!
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Yes, after tasting the cremant, the orange rind was a last minute genius idea of Sue’s!
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Louis Jadot Gamay is one of the premium wine in category of wines. I personally loved this.
I am from Singapore and now, this is available in Singapore now as label of best french wine only at Benchmark Wines.
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That’s great news for folks in Singapore!
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