One of the many famous pieces of by Johannes Strauss II is Wine, Women, and Song.

While reading this blog, you can listen to this piece on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpKDjzloaLA

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiiNRs6Had0

The Holy Diamond has wine, women, song and Strauss!  But in this blog entry, I will talk about wine – which is, after all, one of the key themes of this blog at least if you would judge on the basis of the blog’s title: Wine, Writing, and Wandering.

Wine is one of those funny things, though, that is much better enjoyed in the mouth than by word. Still, I will blog about wines, wine accessories, bottles, etc. Because…wine is good!

In Chapter 24 of the novel, there is a reference to Burgundy wine. Though the cherry-red Burgundies, or Bourgogne in French, do not figure prominently in the novel, these are my favorite wines; and among the most expensive in the world if you exclude champagne.

Burgundy wines come from the old kingdom of Bourgogne, which is more or less self-evident. This kingdom was once more or less independent and, in some ways, is best known for having captured and handed over Joan of Arc to the English for burning at the stake.

Gone are those days, but with us today remain fine wines. The region itself in which the grapes are grown lies more or less north of Macon to Dijon in Southeast France, northwest of the Alps. The Bourgogne wines are known for their lighter red color compared to Bordeaux wines or most New World wines (California, Australia, South Africa, etc.); and have a fruitier flavor without being sweet and “weak”.

I did not count, but I’m sure I drank many a fine Bourgogne wine while writing my novel. It’s hard to go wrong with these wines, though finding them can be a bit of a task. Cost? Well a typical bottle of Burgundy is fifteen to twenty-five US dollars; but even a five-year old Bourgogne can cost as little as one hundred US dollars, especially at a restaurant.

Here is a photo of a bottle of Burgundy/Bourgogne. It’s of a Mercurey; you can find out a bit about the region/wine here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercurey_wine

The photo here is of a bottle I drank at home – and note the beautiful, decorative glasses made by the German company Eisch.

Cheers to finding yourself your own fine Bourgogne bottle of red!