We had at least 5 restaurants on our eat-here list, but the only one with a table open on Saturday night, our first night in France and the eve of the Hospices de Beaune auction, was Le Gourmandin. ordered a glass of Cremant, the sparkling wine of Burgundy. Or a lighter Pinot Noir would be a good choice. Now, what to eat? MORE >>

Common wisdom holds that good Pinot Noir should be consumed either while young, or left alone to mature in the cellar for at least five years. About a year or so after release, Pinot Noir shuts down in the bottle. If you think about it, the life cycle of Pinot is like the life cycle of a typical person. Anyway. MORE >>

She got us tickets to the Hospices de Beaune auction, and she made appointments for us to visit a few of her growers, and we didn't discuss our tastes before she made the appointments. We would probably have focused entirely on Pinot Noir if left to our own devices. will instead share some of what I learned from this tasting. MORE >>

A few wines of interest from the past few weeks that don't get their own post: Burgundy 2003 Marechal Savigny Les Beaune Vieille Vignes , $ unknown (restaurant purchase). If I'm not mistaken, it was this wine that won the NYTimes tasting panels' "Village Burgundy" blind tasting a little over a year ago. Wrong. just as good. MORE >>

Trying to identify my favorite under $25 Pinots has been an interesting exercise for me. Not because I've tried so many new Pinots from all over the world, and certainly not because I've discovered that there are loads of wonderful under $25 Pinots out there. Like the wonderful $14 2002 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir. MORE >>