Amateur Wine Researcher “Discovers” Nearly 400 Missing French Burgundy Vineyards
London, November 2018 — While exploring the list of vineyards (climats) granted World Heritage Status by UNESCO in 2015, wine researcher Paul Messerschmidt noted a disparity between the number referenced in UNESCO press materials (1,247) and the count of those actually listed in the UNESCO application.
“My first indication of some discrepancy came when I went to a print shop in Beaune and asked them to make a hardcopy of the vineyard list (“Liste exhaustive des climats”) from the UNESCO application.” Messerschmidt reports. They handed me 75 printed pages, which puzzled me, as I knew that each page had 20–22 climats listed, which meant there were at least 1,500 or more vineyards registered. The next step in Paul’s research was to create a detailed spreadsheet containing such elements in his data matrix as climat, commune, and planted area (based on the UNESCO documents), as well as classification information (i.e., Grand Cru, Premier Cru, and Village). This hand-entered tabulation of over 6,000 data cells was then carefully checked, double-checked, and cross-referenced against several established Burgundy wine references. The resulting spreadsheet has 1,639 rows, though some of these represent erroneous, duplicate entries, bringing the adjusted total to 1,628.
The divergence appears to come from searching the database for “climat names” rather than “named climats”. For example, there are vineyards called “Les Cras” in Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Aloxe-Corton, Pommard, and Meursault (i.e., five “named climats”, but only one “climat name” that is captured in UNESCO’s count of 1,247). In the extreme, “Le Village” appears 33 times in the UNESCO inventory, from Chenove in the Côte de Nuits to Santenay in the Côte de Beaune, but is counted only once by UNESCO, when filtering the database for “climat names”. While there are 1,247 climat names in Burgundy, the adjusted number should reflect there are 1,628 separate, distinct, and precisely delimited vineyard parcels in the Côte d’Or). “Burgundians, as well as all lovers of the special wines offered there, should welcome these previously uncounted climats, providing even more ways to enjoy the many pleasures of Burgundy, as well as acknowledging each and every individual and distinct vineyard. I want to be sure all 1,628 climats are recognized — and counted — for their unique qualities, even if they share the same name with one or more climats.” notes Messerschmidt.
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Note: Paul conducted most of his research while residing near Beaune during the summer of 2018. In addition to hours spent behind a computer screen, Paul complemented his research with vigneron interviews, visits to the vineyards, studying wine maps, reviewing French property records — and of course sampling many of the subjects of his study.
Paul can be reached to discuss his research in more detail at:
paulmess@gmail.com or 07 400 692 333 (UK) +44 7400 692 333 (international)
