▻ Understanding the Burgundy Trade

10 Minute Masterclass

20 May

Written By Sarah Kemp

In conversation with Jasper Morris MW

Episode Summary:-

Jasper Morris MW, leading Burgundy expert and author of the award-winning “Inside Burgundy,” explains how the Burgundy trade works in our latest 10 Minute Masterclass. He begins by noting that Burgundy is one-quarter the size of Bordeaux and only 4% of France’s vineyards, though it is one of the areas which is still expanding, such is the demand for the wine. Jasper’s preference is to think of it, as a 19th-century writer commented, “a place with a heart and no boundaries.”

He tells Sarah Kemp about how the Burgundy trade works: There are three main ways to sell wine - the wine is bottled either by the domaines or estates, through negociants or merchants or co-operatives. At the last count, there were 3,504 domaines, 1,900 of which are relatively sizeable. He begins with the rise of domaine-bottled wine: “In the first great economic crisis of the 20th Century, the growers found they couldn’t sell their wine to the merchants at any price, so some of them started to bottle it themselves.” The second wave of domaine-bottling came in the late 1970s, and by the 1990s was well established. Despite the rise of domaine-bottled wine, Jasper notes, the negociants remain critical to the region, as they are still responsible for half of the market’s production, and they too are bottling domaine wine. The third tier in the system is the co-operatives, 16 in total. One of the most important ones is in Chablis, which accounts for 20-25% of the production. Other important co-operatives can be found in the Maconnais. The co-operatives are pretty important for own-label and supermarket wines, as they can be competitive on price.

There is a new breed of negociants to found in Burgundy, Jasper reports, and discusses some of the companies which are making waves. The USA is Burgundy’s largest market, followed by the United Kingdom and Japan; China is in 10th place but Jasper believes that will change. Then, we tackle the all-important question of where to find value. Jasper recommends looking at the Hautes-Côtes, the Mâconnais, St-Roman, Marsannay and Monthelie.

Running Order:-

0.00 – 5.10

“Burgundy, a place with a heart and no boundaries.”

– How big Burgundy is.
– How the Burgundy trade works.
– The rise of domaine-bottled wine.
5.10 – 10.59

“In the first great economic crisis of the 20th century, the growers found that they couldn’t sell their wine to the merchants at any price, so they started to bottle their wine.”

– The importance of the negociants.
– The 16 co-operatives in Burgundy and their importance.
– The new wave of negociants.
– The key export markets.
– Where to find value in Burgundy.