The world’s six greatest wine regions, according to experts
The Sydney Morning Herald, By Ben Groundwater, November 16, 2024
Where do people who are obsessed with wine go for their holidays? This won’t be a surprise. They go to wine regions.
We asked the most knowledgeable and well-travelled wine obsessives in Australia about their favourite region to visit, and the hot tips on what to drink, eat and do while there.
The wine importer
Jeremy Holmes, D’or to Door, Barossa Valley, SA
Where Burgundy, France
Why “The wine is what attracted us to Burgundy,” says Jeremy, “but after having visited a lot of times now over 25 years, you get to know the people, and I guess that’s probably the same as any region you love – it’s the people who make the experience great. But this is also without doubt one of the world’s premier wine regions.”
Drink up “It’s getting harder to access wineries in Burgundy,” Jeremy says, “and a lot of the tastings require a formalised booking. But you can still taste at both large and small domains and negociant houses. One of the domains we bring in, Domaine Michel Rebourgeon in Pommard, has what we would call a cellar door; anyone can taste everything, from entry-level Bourgogne to their top wine. Then you look at negociants like Bouchard Pere & Fils; they’ve got a facility in Beaune where you can do a tasting – there are premium tastings available too, for a minimal payment. And at Olivier Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet you can taste.”
Dine out “Just south of Meursault there are two terrific restaurants right next to each other: Le Terroir, and Le Ouillette. Le Terroir is very traditional, and Le Ouillette is much more modern, but they’ve both got fantastic service, fabulous wine lists, and they’re both decent value. Within Meursault, Le Souffout is also great, and the wine list is killer, seriously underpriced.
“The markets in Burgundy are also amazing, and in Beaune there are two shops: Alain Hess, such a good cheese shop, and Athenaeum, which has the best collection of wine books, decanters, glasses and other knickknacks.”
Sleep over “We always stay in Meursault at a place called Chez Hall, which is owned by an Aussie. But I would recommend a website called Location Burgundy. It’s run by an English couple who manage quite a few high-end houses and apartments; they’ve got some great places on their books.”
More Meursault, Jeremy’s recommended base, is a 3½-hour drive south-east of Paris, and is best visited from April to June. See dortodoor.com; burgundy-tourism.com; locationburgundy.com