CQ's Wine Guide to France Part 5: Burgundy

Organization

1. The best wines are classified as grand cru, followed by premiere cru, village level wines, and regional wines.
2. Grape-growers often own no more than a row or two of vines due to the inheritance laws associated with the Napoleonic Code.
3. Negociants, more so than any other region in France, play and active role in the vinification, bottling, ageing, and distribution of wines.
4. The best wines are some of the most highly collected and expensive wines in the world.
5. Historically one of the oldest wine-producing regions in France established by the Catholic Church.