Comitatus Burgundiae

Gorgeous map by Visscher showing the Burgundy wine region of France.

Burgundy is perhaps the most respected wine region in all of France. It has the highest number of appellations d’origine contrôlée (AOC) wines, and terroir plays a critically important role in the delineation of wines, even down to specific vineyards. This dates back to monastic orders, like the Benedictines and Cistercians, that cultivated large swathes of grape vines throughout the region. They noticed different vineyards gave consistently different characteristics to wines, and even began walling in these vineyards to establish firm borders between them. Today, a cru is a vineyard, or group of vineyards, that that shares the same terroir and recognized consistent quality. This system has its foundations in the monastic orders of the 14th century!