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French Winophiles Dream of Chablis
April brings our French #Winophiles group to a virtual visit to Chablis, in the Bourgogne wine region. Skip farther down in this post to see all the great Chablis finds of my fellow writers!

Chablis is physically separate from the Côte d’Or, being farther north and west. In fact, if you are driving to Beaune from Paris, you’ll pass through on your way. If you are planning a multi-day visit to Bourgogne, definitely include a day trip to Chablis. Highly recommended!

Being farther north and west, Chablis is slightly cooler than the Côte d’Or. The soil is dominated by Kimmeridgian limestone from the time the area was a shallow seabed. If you look carefully, you may find fossilized seashells amidst the vines. It’s easy to recognize as the “soil” is very rocky and nearly white. Even out by the highway, the white rocky soil is obvious!

Chablis region courtesy of bourgogne-wines.com

Look carefully for the Grand Cru vineyards on the map above; they are all in one contiguous place in the center of the map, just across from the village of Chablis. You can walk out from the village and see all the Grand Cru Chablis vineyards in the entire world from where you stand.

This is it. All the Grand Cru Chablis for the whole world.

Château de Béru
On our last visit to Bourgogne, we trekked up to Chablis for a day of exploring. You can see more about our adventure here and here. As you can see from the photos, the climate here is continental (this was July), with rain possible any time of year. You can also see the white Kimmeridgian soil and the medieval wall which forms the clos around the estate vineyard.

(click on any photo for full size slide show, hit “escape” to return to the post)

The team at Château de Béru is small, so Gaelle was able to explain history, grape growing, cellar work, everything!

A little bit of history here

The soil inside the Clos Béru

Always fun to descend into the cellar

We love to learn more about the region and the particular place occupied by the domaine.

Severe frost resulted in no 2016 harvest, but there is still some 2015 left

Château de Béru in Minnesota
Prior to our visit, we did have the opportunity to enjoy a bottle of Château de Béru Chablis as they are imported by Zev Rovine Selections, and one of our local shops was able to secure some. At our visit, I knew I would need to bring some home to the states, even though it meant schlepping our wine through Sweden and the Netherlands before returning home. I learned all about airport storage on this trip!

Our Clos Béru was secured at the winery and transported all over Europe before making it home with us to Minnesota.

Château de Beru Chablis AOC “Clos Béru Monopole” 2015 12.5% abv (50 € at the winery, or online here)
Eye: Very slightly hazy, medium gold color. Legs
Nose: Clean, medium intensity. Lemons, lemon curd, floral – delicate white flowers, chalk, wet pavement after a rain, a touch of baking spice, rich nose.
Mouth: Dry, medium+ intensity flavors. Medium+ acidity with a creamy texture, like creme fraiche. Medium body, medium alcohol.

Chablis is my favorite pairing for oysters on the half shell

1st course – Oysters on the half shell
Oysters on the half-shell pair beautifully with any number of wines: Champagne, Cremant, Sancerre, Muscadet. For me, though, Chablis is the best. There’s something about that slightly richer body than most of the other choices that seems to match the saline richness of the oyster. We have a good source of fresh oysters in Minneapolis at Coastal Seafoods, so I always enjoy shucking them myself. A dozen for two people is just right for a first course.

2nd course – halibut in parchment
For an elegant main course, Chablis with fish in parchment is hard to beat. I rarely follow a recipe for fish in parchment, preferring to add the fresh ingredients which strike me at the market the day I shop. One other benefit of individual packets: they can be customized to the individual diner. Tonight we served halibut with cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red peppers, carrots, and minced shallots. Individual additions were green olives and fresh dill for me, black olives and cilantro for Julie! We served the fish on a bed of quinoa with lemon slices on the side. Due to the light preparation and lack of cream sauce, Chablis pairs better than a more obviously oaked Chardonnay from the Côte d’Or

Fresh vegetables, halibut, lemon and herbs, and a bit of extra virgin olive oil. That’s it!

About 15 minutes at 400° F

Black olives mark Julie’s packet

Elegant, delicious and healthy!

Fellow French Winophiles and Chablis-o-philes Posts

Take a look below at all the great ideas for Chablis. If you’ve given up on Chardonnay but haven’t tried a Chablis, maybe one of our posts will inspire you to give one a try! If you see this post in time, please join our chat on Saturday April 20 at 10am CDT. Just go to the #Winophiles hashtag on Twitter and join in!

• Cam at Culinary Adventures with Camilla Brings Us “Cracked Crab, Cheesy Ravioli, and Chablis”
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles writes about “Mont de Milieu Premier Cru Chablis from Simonnet-Febvre and Pochouse”
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator Shares “Chablis is … Chardonnay? Comparing 2 from France, 1 from SoCal Paired with Seafood Lasagna”
• Liz at What’s in That Bottle Shares Chablis: the Secret Chardonnay
• Deanna at Asian Test Kitchen Writes about “Top Chablis Pairings with Japanese Food”
• Jennifer at Beyond the Cork Screw Has “French Companions: Chablis and Fromage Pavé”
• Payal at Keep the Peas writes about “Chablis: A Tale of Two Soils”
• Jane at Always Ravenous has “Pairing Chablis with Marinated Shrimp Salad”
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “All the Best Food Pairings with Clos Beru Chablis”
• Jill at L’Occasion writes about “Metal Giants: Windfarms and the Chablis Landscape”
• Susannah at Avvinare writes “Celebrating France with Chablis and Toasting Notre Dame”
• David at Cooking Chat writes about “Sipping Chablis with Easter Dinner or Your Next Seafood Meal”
• Pinny at Chinese Food & Wine Pairings writes about “A Delicate Pair: Jean Claude Courtault Chablis and Sichuan Peppercorn-Cured Salmon”
• Nicole at Somm’s Table writes about Domaine Savary Chablis Vieilles Vignes with Scallops and Brussels Sprouts Two Ways”
• Kat at Bacchus Travel & Tours shares “The Delicate Face of Chardonnay: Chablis”
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm Brings Us “Chardonnay? White Burgundy? Chablis!”

DIY Oyster Shucking
Safety first: Get yourself a pair of kevlar gloves and an oyster knife. Find a local purveyor who sells fresh oysters. As it turns out, oysters are pretty hardy and can handle the air transport and a day or two in cool conditions. Watch a video or two, and give shucking a try. You’ll be an expert in no time!