So I was browsing the shelves of the virtual wine shop looking to stock up the wine rack with another assortment of yummy flavors when I came across a white Burgundy.

White Burgundy? Isn’t Burgundy supposed to be red?

I had stumbled across yet another hole in my Swiss cheese wine education and had to start researching this oxy moron of the grape producing world. Because Burgundy means red right?

Seems a white Burgundy is one way of describing a Chardonnay from the French Burgundy region. It’s also the name given to expensive Chardonnays produced in America, Australia and Chile to name but a few. Also referred to as Bourgogne Blanc.

Okay then so where do I start and what can I expect to pay?

I cam across a New York Times article on the matter that stated there are several types of white wines grown in the Burgundy region.

An expensive but hard to get a hold of on my budget white Burgundy is the stuff produced by the Montrachet vineyard. They only produce around 3,000 cases a year. But it’s right next to the Burgundy village and thus receives the same water. There are a number of producers of white wine in the Burgundy region including the makers of Chablis. It seems Chablis is a balance between white Burgundy and Champagne both geographically and taste wise.

Never being much of a fan of white wine I haven’t tried Chablis but it seems an affordable option. I’m always on the look out for recommendations. It seems the further out from the central Burgundy region the wine comes from the more affordable and thus perhaps inferior it becomes. It’s actually quite confusing to me when I consider the complexities and intricacies of the French grape growing regions.

Seems a vacation to wine country may be in order.

Okay so if I’m reading this article right it seems a white Burgundy at this blog’s price range would come from the town of Macon or thereabouts which is close to the Beaujolais region. Well I know I like the Gamay grapes from that area so that’s a good start. So it seems I need to find a white Burgundy from Macon, Pouilly-Fuissé or St. Véran for the wine rack out here in beautifully desolate rural Wyoming.

Wish me luck fellow vino fans. I think I’m going to need it.