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Sometimes Plan “B” is the Best
After a memorable morning at Morey-Coffinet in Chassagne-Montrachet, my afternoon plans were a big question mark.

Lunch? Where?
Running just a bit late, I found there was no room at 1 pm at the one restaurant in Volnay –  “service est terminé“. No! I headed out to RD974 (the old RN74), and happened to see a little wine bar with continuous service.  No cars in the parking lot. I was happy I was going to have lunch, even if it was a bust. As it turns out, an empty parking lot on a weekday in November needn’t raise concerns over the quality of the restaurant! (click on any photo for the slideshow, escape to return to the post)

Town center of Volnay. The ivy covered building is the one restaurant, with no room.

Empty parking lot, but continuous service. I’ll take it.

A charming place right next to the vineyards of Volnay

BTG winelist, not bad!

Pommard 1er Cru and chips.

Everything was homemade from scratch

Parmentier de Canard

A warm friendly place, a quick stop for lunch, just right.

Short Notice Winery Visit
Shortly before my trip, my afternoon winery visit fell through.  I was disappointed, because visits need to be scheduled in advance, and I didn’t have enough time to research and contact a winery. Unlike the US, most wineries don’t have tasting rooms.

I decided to just try my luck on the Bourgogne Wines website, an excellent resource for anyone interested in the wines of the region. The website includes a powerful feature which allows you to find and set up a winery visit. You can filter the list to include winegrowers in certain villages, sales at the winery, and even languages spoken (score!). Even though it was just the day before, I was able to confirm an afternoon visit in Volnay at Domaine Albert Boillot. The winegrower, Raymond, was a quiet, charming gentleman. He took me 1:1 through a complete tour of the cellar. As we were heading back to the tasting room, he pointed to a very short door and said that was the winery.  Would I be interested in seeing it? Yes! After a leisurely tasting of his wines, I purchased one each of the Volnay and Pommard 1er Cru. I wish I had more room in my wine luggage.

Domaine Albert Boillot, a modest little winery in Volnay

Raymond Boillot, the current winegrower in a 300 year family tradition.

The cellar at Domaine Albert Boillot

The barrel room

The Bourgogne Rouge ages exclusively in old barrels.

The caption reads “Pommard Cru 1919”

The oldest wines are from 1856. Raymond said they are no longer drinkable, just memories.

Raymond asked if I wanted to see the winery. Of course! Have you ever seen a horizontal wooden basket press? Neither have I.

Tasting 1:1 with Raymond in the cellar.

Bourgogne Rouge and Blanc, Volnay and Pommard 1er Cru

Village level Volnay and 1er cru Pommard. Both are in the Cote de Beaune

Tiny bourgogne towns present some driving challenges. That driver is NOT going to make that turn.

Hike the Vineyards of Volnay and Pommard
There’s no better or more memorable way to understand a winegrowing area than to spend some time just wandering through the vines.  I left enough time to hike in the vineyards around Volnay and Pommard.

An old 3D map showing the vineyard ratings which pre-date today’s Grand Cru, 1er Cru and Village classifications. It’s all about the land!

At the top of the hill above Volnay, these are Village Climats

Looking down into Volnay

Looking down from 2/3 the way up the hillside. 1er Cru vineyards below, the best combination of soil, slope, and angle to the sun.

Replacing dying vines.

Beautiful fall colors and underripe grapes, left for the birds.

Volnay features a church, municipal building and as far as I could see, 1 restaurant.

On the way to the village of Pommard

Pommard Ruggiens

A “Clos” is a vineyard surrounded by a stone wall

Looking down into Pommard

Have you seen this before? It appears to be a way to squeeze one more grapevine into the row. This practice was common.

Not rainy, but the low clouds never cleared.

Families may only own a few rows, or even just a section of one row. How do you know which vines are yours? Here’s one way.

November vines in Pommard.

So when life hands you plan “B”, grab it!