Drink: Vines with deep roots

A limestone escarpment meanders south from Dijon. The product of prehistoric geological conflicts, it is now an arcadian idyll: the Côte-d’Or. Ducal Burgundy was one of the hauts-lieux of civilisation, and its resonances are all around you. But even before there was a duchy, Charlemagne enjoyed the wines of Burgundy, as had the Romans. That heritage is equally ubiquitous. In Gevrey-Chambertin, there is an unpretentious building, containing offices and a cellar: the headquarters of Pierre Bourée Fils, winemakers. When the cellars were excavated, Roman artefacts were found. The firm has only been in business for 150 years, but as its owners are well aware, they are part of a history almost as old as Europe.

The creation of great wine is a consecration of past and present. Any good winemaker will study the latest techniques and draw on academic viticulture. He will also know that he is standing on the shoulders of giants: the men who first hacked out the vineyards and nursed the vines.