I grabbed a few extra hours on both Friday and Saturday to drive around the Cote d’Nuits. Since it is only 18 miles long, it didn’t take long. I took the faster road up to Marsannay, and then slowly weaved my way through each of the little famous villages – taking pictures as I went: Fixin, Musigny, Gevry-Chambertin, St. Denis, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanee, a quick detour to Echezeaux, and Nuits St. George.

In Gevry-Chambertin, I stopped to buy a bottle of wine for Mike – since this is his favorite village. Driving around I saw a sign for Domaine Heresztyn saying “Ouvert.” Thinking it looked like a charming little winery in the middle of the village, I drove in and asked to taste. The owner only spoke French, so she called an American friend to help translate. Turns out she is the new VP of Marketing for Benzinger. Small world! We had a nice chat and plan to reconnect back home in Sonoma. I was also fortunate enough to be allowed to buy 3 bottles of the 2005 Premier Cru.

Another great stop was Clos de Vougeot – the famous home of the monks who laid out the grand vineyards of Burgundy in the 1100’s. I was amazed at the four huge wine presses and large wooden tanks that took up a huge portion of the Clos. I also spent some time in the vineyards outside soaking up the sun and meditating on what it would be like to be a monk working those fields.