Slow travel and slow food in Burgundy
Time waits for no man, so they say… But on a French Cycling Holiday, we think it’s important to not to rush around when you want to really experience France.
Time to notice the sunshine on your skin, time to listen to the birds, time to admire the scenery.
One of the most beautiful things about cycling through France is that time s l o w s to a snail’s pace and you really live in the moment, noticing your surroundings and immersing yourself into the landscape. And nowhere more so than in Burgundy.
Not only is Burgundy famed for its snails, this is a region where time is absolutely integral to their produce, their cuisine, and the lifestyle that accompanies it.
Time to mature
Burgundy is famous for its vin, and the most legendary wines from the Bourgogne region certainly benefit from loitering in oak barrels.
The oak trees felled to turn into barrels are often over 100 years old, and are then treated with great respect. The wood is aged, carefully cut, slowly bent and bound into a barrel shape, before being toasted over fire to the required level. Finished barrels are sold to winemakers at several hundred euros each.
Not all grape varieties can cope with barrel-ageing, but the pinot noir and chardonnay for which Burgundy is famed can sit happily in a wooden cask for several months. Flavours of vanilla, butter, brioche, chocolate, spice and smoke are imparted into the wine, and the tannins released from the oak during maturation give body, structure and richer mouthfeel.
When you think about all the effort that has gone into each bottle, there is all the more reason to take your time over a wine tasting!
Famous wines featuring on our Burgundy cycle tour
On our Burgundy Wine Explorer cycle tour, we visit cellars of Montagny in the village of Buxy, Chateau de Santenay or Pommard at the Chateau de Pommard and taste wines from Rully alongside a tasting menu in the evening.
We cycle through famous-named vineyards like Aloxe-Corton and Nuits-St-Georges, Hautes- Cotes de Beaune… And restaurant menus generally feature a huge list of local wines to try, and the sommeliers can advise which to try with each dish.
Slow cooking
Aside from the wine, you haven’t experienced Burgundy until you’ve tucked into an authentic boeuf bourgignonne.
This is a Grande Classique of French cuisine, made truly local with Charolais beef, a breed originates in the upland areas of west of Dijon, and red wine from the cellars of your favourite Burgundian vineyard.
Elizabeth David, the iconic British cookery writer, raves about the region in her French Provincial Cooking, exclaiming, “How the names alone of these Burgundian dishes seem to smell of the vineyard, the wine cellar, and the countryside.”
She says of the boeuf bourgignonne, “This is a favourite among those carefully composed, slowly cooked dishes which are the domain of French housewives and owner-cooks of modest restaurants rather than of professional chefs.” (That said, of course restaurant chefs want to highlight this absolute classic of Burgundy, so you will find it on menus throughout the area.)
A leisurely few hours in an oven allows the flavours of the wine to soften and marry with the sweet carrots, baby onions and woody mushrooms, and mingle with the beef juices and bouquet garni. The meat – a cheaper, fatty cut is used, generally in quite large chunks – will tenderise slowly in the casserole dish, and when served, several hours later, will surrender to the gentle pressure of a fork. A simple boiled potato or three is all you need on the side.
Not many chefs advise dousing this dish with a vintage Gevrey Chambertin; it seems that you can save your pennies on the cooking wine in order to splash out on a bottle that you can more properly appreciate when sipping from a glass!
Ripening Epoisses cheese
Burgundy isn’t only about meat. Those dairy cows we’ll cycle past produce delicious milk from over 100 plant species growing in the pastures. And the most famous cheese made in Burgundy is called Epoisses.
We don’t recommend taking Epoisses home as a souvenir... With its rind washed in ‘marc de Bourgogne’ (the local alcoholic spirit made from the wine lees), this aromatic fromage doesn’t travel well!
All the more reason to enjoy it as part of a picnic in the fresh air.
Here again, it’s time that makes this cheese special. The lactic coagulation process must be slow. One of the distinctive production methods that have awarded Epoisses its Appellation d'origine protégée status is the 16-24 hours that this part of the cheesemaking takes. No need to rush…
Once the cheese is formed, it dries for 48 hours before being salted, and is then matured ‘affiné’ for four weeks. The cheeses are ‘washed’ at least once a week with water, progressively enriched with the Marc de Bourgogne which allow its distinctive orangey rind to develop.
This creamy textured, very ripe and fruity fromage was saved from extinction in the mid-1950s after production almost died out following the two world wars. In 1969, the association of the ‘Defence of Epoisses’ was set up, production increased, and this odorous cheese was granted AOP status in 1996.
Burgundy Wine Explorer bike tour
Our riders have the opportunity to enjoy Epoisses cheese, Boeuf Bourgignonne and of course, Burgundy wine in the restaurants we visit and on picnics during the day time rides. You will also see snails - escargot - on the menu so those who wish can tuck in to another local speciality!
Our bike tour of Burgundy is rated four out of ten for cycling level - the cycling ranges from easy on some days to moderate on others, but should be comfortably achievable for anyone of reasonable fitness. You can also choose to do the tour on an e-bike if you prefer.
Burgundy Wine Explorer cycling tour highlights
- The majestic Abbey of Cluny
- A portion of traffic-free biking along dedicated cycleways & canal towpaths
- Sweeping landscapes of vineyards, forests and hills
- Wine tasting in prestigious Cote d'Or area
- Medieval masterpieces in Tournus and Beaune
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to get in touch, we're always very happy to chat.
- fch@frenchcyclingholidays.com
- +44(0) 1923 894305 or +44(0)20 8357 8934