BURGUNDY WINES

take their name from the ancient province of Burgundy, France. They are much "heavier" than Bordeaux wines and contain a considerably greater alcohol percentage. The best varieties, those produced in the hilly lands between Dijon and Chalons in the department of Cote d'Or, rank very high in the esteem of connoisseurs and are often recommended to invalids as a stimulating and highly tonic beverage.

Burgundies are divided into two principal classes--"red" and "white," the red being generally the choicer. The chief types are sold both "still" and "sparkling."

Red Burgundies are subdivided into three classes. The most famous, those of CLASS I, are Romanee Conti, Chambertin, Clos de Vougeot, Richebourg and La Tache-varying in retail value, according to vintage, etc., from one to ten dollars a quart, the last-named being for a famous old vintage of Romanee Conti. The word "clos" means literally "enclosure" and hence "locality" or "vineyard."

With the exception of the CLASS I varieties and a few examples of CLASSES II and III, the bulk of the Burgundy imported into the United States is marketed under the name of the commune, or district, of production--as Beaune, Corton, Nuits, Pommard, Volnay, Vosne, Vougeot, etc.

Prominent among the lower grade, lighter red varieties are Macon and Beaujolais.

Though "white" Burgundy as a class is not as highly considered as red Burgundy, the best vintages of one variety, Montrachet, which resembles very fine Rhine Wine, are world-famous. Other excellent white Burgundies are Meursault and Chablis, the latter in varying qualities from quite ordinary to choice.

High grade Burgundies will keep from twenty to thirty years, and sometimes longer, often greatly improving with age. The lower grades are best at from five to ten years.

Burgundy should never be served as delivered from the merchant as it requires a considerable time, two or three weeks at least, to settle after being disturbed. It should be drunk at about the temperature of the average dining room or a trifle warmer. It should never be iced. Old Burgundies require care in decanting to be enjoyed at their best--see general article on WINES.