{"id":1605,"date":"2020-07-29T13:59:59","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T13:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1605"},"modified":"2020-07-29T14:13:12","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T14:13:12","slug":"hospices-de-beaune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1605","title":{"rendered":"Hospices de Beaune"},"content":{"rendered":"

This being an edition of Power Tasting focused on health, choosing a location for the Places to Visit column poses a particular challenge.\u00a0 But aha! What about a hospital?\u00a0 A hospital<\/em> as a place to visit while wine tasting?\u00a0 Well, the Hospices de Beaune used to be a hospital and it\u2019s smack-dab in the middle of Burgundy\u2019s famed C\u00f4te d\u2019Or (or Golden Coast).<\/p>\n

Beaune is a small town that forms the demarcation between the two Burgundian regions that are the home to some of the world\u2019s most well-regarded Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.\u00a0 To the north is the C\u00f4te de Nuit (the Night Coast, with wines of more minerality and structure) and to the south is the C\u00f4te de Beaune, with more luscious reds, more delicate whites.\u00a0 In 1443, the Chancellor of Burgundy founded a hospital in this town.\u00a0 Now, a hospital in the Middle Ages was not a good place to get well.\u00a0 The rich stayed sick at home and the poor went to hospitals in the expectation that they would die there.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of beaune-tourism.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

But the Hospices de Beaune was different.\u00a0 It was intended to be a palace for the poor and palatial it was\u2026and is.\u00a0 It has extravagant Gothic architecture, with turrets and garrets surrounding a broad courtyard.\u00a0 The interior, where the patients lay, features a grand, vaulted ceiling and nooks for the beds.\u00a0 And the roof!\u00a0 One of the architectural joys of ancient Burgundian ch\u00e2teaux is the intricate tilework on the roofs, and that at the Hospices de Beaune is among the best.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Burgundy Tourism.<\/em><\/p>\n

Amazingly, the Hospices de Beaune continued to serve patients until 1971.\u00a0 Today it\u2019s a museum where you can \u2013 you should<\/em> \u2013 see it all when you go wine tasting in Burgundy.\u00a0 Be prepared to be wrapped in history, art and architecture.\u00a0 Just as much, you will be in the midst of wine history.\u00a0 As the Hospices was becoming established, local nobles donated land to help fund its operations.\u00a0 That land was in areas we now know as Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Savigny, Corton, Mazis-Chambertin, Echezeaux and Clos de la Roche as well as Beaune itself.\u00a0 Needless to say, these are communes that produce some of the greatest Burgundy wines.\u00a0 Today, the Domaines de Hospices de Beaune are spread over 60 hectares (148 acres), with Pinot Noir constituting 85% of the vines.<\/p>\n

Once a year, in mid-November, there is a weekend-long charity auction of Hospices de Beaune\u2019s wines.\u00a0 Most are Grand Crus and Premier Crus.\u00a0 Members of the wine trade, connoisseurs of Burgundy wines and some very serious wine lovers assemble in the Great Hall to bid on the wines.\u00a0 Of course, there are other festivities, including a coveted, invitation-only dinner at the nearby Clos de Vougeot<\/a> ch\u00e2teau, hosted by the Chevaliers de Tastevin, the exclusive Burgundy wine society.\u00a0 Perhaps you\u2019re interested in bidding on a case or two?\u00a0 Sorry, but they auction it off by the barrel<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If, like us, you enjoy travelling around the world-wide Wine Country, the C\u00f4te d\u2019Or should be on your list.\u00a0 If you go, you should visit Beaune.\u00a0 Many of the top negociants<\/em> have tasting rooms there.\u00a0 And when you do go to Beaune, make sure to leave time to see the Hospices de Beaune.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This being an edition of Power Tasting focused on health, choosing a location for the Places to Visit column poses a particular challenge.\u00a0 But aha! What about a hospital?\u00a0 A hospital as a place to visit while wine tasting?\u00a0 Well, the Hospices de Beaune used to be a hospital and it\u2019s smack-dab in the middle … Continue reading Hospices de Beaune<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1605"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1613,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1605\/revisions\/1613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}