Visiting Beaune - Maison Joseph Drouhin

The thing that impressed me most when visiting Maison Joseph Drouhin was their labyrinth pre-war cellar, but it is appropriate to provide some background first. The founder, Joseph Drouhin, established the namesake négociant in 1880 at the young age of 22. It is still a family-run company, now run by the fourth generation and headed by Frédéric Drouhin who plays the role of company president. He is aided by his siblings Véronique Drouhin-Boss (Head Winemaker), Philippe Drouhin (Estates Manager) and Laurent Drouhin (U.S. Director). Philippe was instrumental in converting the domaine over to biodynamics, a practice that came about because he found that conventional agriculture did not address the question of the long term effects of chemical use in the vineyard. Soil specialist Claude Bourguignon once shocked the winemakers of Burgundy by declaring that the soils of the region had less microbial life than the Sahara desert. Today Maison Joseph Drouhin comprises 73 hectares, the majority of which is in Chablis (38 ha), and 32 ha of mostly premier cru and grand cru vineyards in the Côte d’Or.

Visiting Beaune - Maison Louis Jadot

On this trip I was in Beaune for only a day, so selecting the wineries to visit was based on which producers could provide the greatest overview of Burgundy. I was thrilled to be able to visit Louis Jadot, a venerable business that has been operating since 1859. The founder, Louis Henry Denis Jadot initially focused on the Northern Europe market as he was from Belgium and familiar with the area. His grandson, Louis Auguste Jadot, further expanded to the Americas, Great Britain and New Zealand. In 1985, Maison Louis Jadot was purchased by the Kopf family who also own Kobrand Corporation, the sole importers of Jadot Burgundies in the United States. The company is currently run by Pierre-Henry Gagey, whose father André Gagey was Louis Auguste Jadot’s deputy.

Rosé Revolution is Back

The fourth edition of the Rosé Revolution takes place on Sunday, May 14th at Hotel Fort Canning from 2pm to 7pm. Tickets are available through Ticketflap or Peatix. Organised by Eddie McDougall, AKA The Flying Winemaker, highlights of the event include over 20 of the world's finest rosés accompanied by food and entertainment. For those wanting to go the whole hog, there is also a four-course rosé pairing menu on the 11th of May from 7pm to 10pm, and a VIP area with lucky draws and goodie bags. The list of featured wines and dinner menu are at the bottom of this post.