Burgundy and Mâconnais Wines

With nearly 25,000 hectares of vines classed as Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (A.O.C) and approximately 1,350,000 hectolitres (180 million bottles), Burgundy vineyards represent around 5% of French A.O.C production and hold a dominant position in the economy of the region.
The vineyards of Burgundy cover 5 main areas of production.
From North to South, the vineyards are:
- Chablis, Auxerrois, Tonnerre, Joigny and Vézelay
- Côte de Nuits, Hautes-Côtes de Nuits and Châtillonnais
- Côte de Beaune and Hautes-Côtes de Beaune
- Côte Chalonnaise and Couchois, and finally, the Maconnais vineyards.

La Roche de Solutré

The Mâconnais vineyards cover 5,700 hectares in southern Burgundy, producing 370,000 Hl, or some 49 million bottles of Mâcon White and Red wine! The chalky soil allows the Chardonnay grape variety to produce dry, fruity wines, with Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran being the most representative of this type.

Fuissé

Built at the bottom of a closed cirque to the south , the village of Fuissé is dominated on both sides by an amazing mosaic of vines gently sloping down towards the heart of the old village.

 

There have been settlements here since ancient times; like its neighbouring villages of Chaintré and Solutré, the name of Fuissé - from Fuscius
or Fusciacus – is of Roman origin.

Today, Fuissé lends its name to the appellation cultivated on its soil,
probably because of the remarkable formation, on the entire west slope,
of argiles à chailles , (clay with flint pebbles), which are reputed to produce powerful wines of superior quality