A Year in Burgundy Page #3

One day in early June,

Dominique Cornin decided

to inspect his vines,

with the help of his beloved

horse, Coccinelle...

Ladybug.

[Dominique speaking French]

Being a winemaker, for me,

is to be in touch with nature.

Im the one who decides what to do.

If I want to work, I work.

Its above all to be in control of your life.

To be outdoors in the sunshine free!

I couldnt imagine doing anything else

because it makes me feel so good.

Even if there are difficult moments...

well, thats life.

I love my job because it lets me be myself.

[narrator]

If a wine reflects the character of the winemaker,

then you'd expect

the wines made here,

to be very different

from Dominique Cornin's.

This is Cristophe Perrot-Minot.

From his headquarters

in Morey-St-Denis,

he owns and manages dozens of valuable

Premier Cru vineyards

and top-of-the-line Grand Crus.

He exports most of his wine to Germany,

Britain, America, China.

This is a business,

after all.

[Cristophe speaking French]

Growing vines is purely academic.

Theres nothing artistic about it.

For me, its all very rational.

Wine is like cooking:

the grapes are just ingredients,

winemaking is the cuisine.

Naturally, we love our vineyards.

We love our terroir.

These are the vines of our parents

and great-grandparents.

We respect the work of each generation.

Nonetheless,

growing vines demands

extreme precision and rigor.

And we shouldnt get in the way of the wine.

Wine requires quality

in the grapes and the terroir.

Our job is just to be a midwife

at the birth of the wine.

[narrator]

30 miles (48 km) south,

in Chassagne Montrachet,

Sunday morning.

Thibault Morey

visits the furthest reaches of the family cellar.

[Thibault speaking French]

We have a little personal cellar which my father built.

This is where he stores the wines he really loves.

It feels very ancient.

Weve never changed it.

Its very damp and cold.

Its quite a special place.

[narrator]

The most famous

wines of Chassagne are white.

Domaine Morey-Coffinet's finest offering

is a Grand Cru Btard.

But some of the Pinot Noirs

are extraordinary too.

They get better and better

for a quarter of a century.

There's a special event today-a family reunion.

[speaking French]

Good morning, Madame,

delighted to meet you.

Finally! After 40 years!

[narrator]

The two sides of the family,

the Moreys and the Coffinets,

are getting together

for Sunday lunch,

a hallowed French tradition,

with family wines to match.

Both of Thibault's

grandfathers are here.

They used to be winemakers

themselves.

And both grandmothers

are here too.

Three generations of

winemakers.

It's quite something

to drink a wine you made yourself,

35 years ago.

But wait,

there's a fourth generation.

Little Celeste

is Michel's grand-daughter.

She's just two years old.

Will Celeste be the first of a

new generation of winemakers

in 20 or 30 years time?

It's not all Sunday lunches,

being a winemaker.

You have to be master

of all trades,

not just cellar master.

In the high summer,

the vineyards are plowed, to aerate the soil.

Chemical weed-killers are used

less and less in Burgundy.

The vines are growing as fast

as they ever will.

They must be sorted out

and tied up

so that the grapes

can be picked more easily.

The whole family turns out

to help.

This is Fabienne,

Thibault's mother.

Most winemakers

trim their vines mechanically.

It's fast and cheap.

But the very best Domains can

afford to do everything by hand.

This is Arnaud Mortet,

another of Martine's

winemakers.

He prides himself in personally trimming

every single vine he owns.

And he does this

several times a year.

And one winemaker

doesn't trim her vines at all.

[speaking French]

Lalou, I would like to know

what you do with your vines...

...when they grow this high?

I gather all the branches from the same vine...

...all the branches...

...and then I bend them like this.

[narrator]

This is Lalou Bize-Leroy,

known as the Queen of Burgundy.

[speaking French]

You must bend them without tying them

together too much,

so they can breathe.

You put the ends between the two wires.

In 1989 we changed all

our wooden posts for higher ones...

...and we added a second wire to attach them.

It will be held like that

so it doesnt become a jungle.

- I notice the next vineyard here.

- Thats whats usually done in Burgundy.

The vines are pruned as usual.

- The posts are not so high.

- And the second wire isnt doubled.

It took them one hour to prune their whole vineyard.

It took us a whole day to do one row.

Its not the same culture.

Not at all.

Yesterday I spent the whole afternoon in my vines.

Yes, of course, I know my vines!

When they dont see me theyre unhappy.

When I arrive theyre happy.

I really love my vines.

Vines are not well understood.

You have to put yourself in their place.

You have to understand why theyre not doing well.

You have to be part of the life of the vine,

and the life of the soil too.

Thats all youve got to do.

Of course, I believe in biodynamics.

We should cut out all chemical substances.

the herbicides, the insecticides,

the fungicides, the pesticides all the icides.

They sound just like homicide!

We should stop killing things

and give them the life force instead.

[narrator]

The intimate relationship between humans and vines

is summed up by Lalou's former winemaker,

Dd Poncheret.

[speaking French]

A vine has to suffer...

...to make good grapes.

You cant coddle it,

or it will become lazy like a couch potato.

He sits there and you feed him.

He doesnt have to work.

If the roots dont dig deep,

theres trouble.

They have to go down 4 or 5 meters.

Then if its dry for a couple of months,

no problem.

The vine will survive.

A vine can live 100 years if you treat it right.

Even if theres no work to do on a Sunday,

you must go and visit your vines.

Thats the important thing.

Theres always something youll discover.

It's mid-summer:

at least two months

'til the harvest.

At Clos Vougeot,

there's a celebration.

The chateau opens its doors

to the Chevaliers du Tastevin.

The Chevaliers are Burgundy's

biggest fans.

More than 500 of the

specially selected members

will sit down

to a six-course meal,

accompanied by the finest wines

of the region.

Everything has to be

just right.

For Burgundy lovers,

this is the Holy of Holies.

The tradition dates back

only to the 1930's... but still.

The first round

in this test of stamina

is an ice-cold glass

of sparkling wine.

Thibault and his wife Christine

are Martine Saunier's guests.

Serving 500 people simultaneously

to a Cordon Bleu meal

takes a little thought.

Meanwhile, the ceremony begins.

New members will be initiated

into the Knighthood of Wine Tasters.

And then

down to the serious business.

It's a six-course banquet:

baby rabbit

with a Saint Romain to drink,

sea urchins

with a Grand Cru Corton,

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