Harvest Time in Burgundy, France Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine Pernand-Vergelesses and Olivier Leflaive wineries. Chateau de La Rochepot

I found this guy on one of our walks.

Fran and Ed, Sal and Edy joined us for a visit.  They found us along the Burgundy Canal.

 Since we're in Burgundy and we all love wine what could be more fun than going wine tasting.  What's even better is arriving during harvest which took place two weeks early this year.  We were able to watch the grapes being brought in, placed on the moving belt where the leaves and other bits and pieces that don't belong with the grapes are removed by hand.

We've always enjoyed visiting Domaine Dubreuil-Fontaine Pernand-Vergelesses which we feel produces an excellent wine.  We've gotten to know the owner Christine Gruere Dubreuil over the years through mutual friends.  Normally she would conduct the wine tastings, but this year she was busy with the harvest.  She did manage to speak with us for a few minutes while apologizing for her sticky fingers.

Christine telling us about this year's harvest.

The grapes are being brought in and placed on the moving belt for cleaning and sorting.

 Our next visit was to Olivier Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet. There as well they were in the midst of their harvest.

Grapes ready for crushing

We were able to taste the freshly picked and crushed grape juice.  It was sweet and delicious!  You can see the press behind Tom.

We were given a tour of the wine cellars by Patrick who is one of the owners.  Behind him are barrels waiting to be filled.

Grapes are being dumped on to the belt that carries them along to be sorted through 

At Olivier Leflaive the cleaning and sorting is done by hand.

Fran and Tom almost have their noses in the grapes watching as the sorting takes place.

The grapes are shoveled into a conveyer belt which takes the grapes up to the press.

It was the perfect time to be in Burgundy.

In order to prevent the grapes from fermenting too soon, they are placed in dry ice after being sorted.

 One of the nice things about Olivier Leflaive Winery is their restaurant.  They provide a delicious meal with choices as to which wine tasting you would like along with your food.  This time I wasn't driving and along with Ed chose the larger tasting which included 9 different wines.  They were delicious.  The meal is extremely well prepared and I would recommend to anyone in the area that they take the winery tour and include lunch as part of their day.  Make reservations for the tour as well as the lunch.

We enjoyed our meal at Olivier Leflaive Le Restaurant

 There is more to do in Burgundy than wine tasting.  The area is filled with Chateau worth touring.  Our next stop was Chateau de La Rochepot which has been in existence since 1180.  Over the centuries the chateau was built, abandoned, inherited, auctioned and finally redeemed in 1893.  The President of the Republic Sadi Carnot and his wife began the resurrection of the castle which in 1893 was in ruins.  The Castle made history in the 15th century with the arrival of the Pot family who subsequently gave the place its name.  The reconstruction of the castle lasted more than twenty-five years.

Entrance to Chateau de La Rochepot

Typical Burgundian tile roof.

The Chateau has graceful lines.

Another angle of the Chateau and tile roof.

While not large the Chateau is well laid out.  You can visit the Chapel which was built in the 13th century, destroyed and then rebuilt between 1899 and 1901.  The Marlot Tower has various rooms worth visiting.  The kitchen is wonderful and you can visit the Stateroom and Guard room as well.

Tom is getting ready for our trip to Venice, Italy

We always eat well on Rabelo.

We took the time to stroll through Dijon.

 Chateau Sainte Sabine has a wonderful restaurant.  The dinner was amazing and I've posted some of the dishes we enjoyed.

Amuse Bouche 

Mullet a la plancha, grilled fennel and stuffed vegetable, poultry juice

pink lamb meat from Clavisy farm, cucumber and ewes' cheese nougat, finely chopped vegetables and mellow juice.

A wonderful selection of mostly Burgundy cheeses.

As full as I was I couldn't resist sampling a small selection of cheeses.

We had lunch with Paul and Catherine Day at La Abbaye de la Bussiere-sur-Ouche.  I'm standing by one of Paul Day's sculptures.  

After visiting the Abbaye and seeing many of Paul's works, we went to visit the studio and gallery of Paul Day a British sculpture where we were greeted by Paul, his wife Catherine and their two dogs.