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‘Way back in the Middle Ages, the average person was not gallivanting about the French countryside. To get anywhere took months, often years. Whether you were a soldier or a pilgrim, you usually rode your horse from monastery to abbey where hospitality was simple: a bed, a meal and some wine. Although the business of the monks and abbots was piety and prayer, many French Catholic orders, in offering hospitality to wayfarers, began to be known for the high quality of their gardens, livestock and vineyards.

One of the Church’s most well developed monasteries at Cluny, northeast of Lyon. These two Burgundy settlements lay along the then-frontier of France and Germany, on what has long been a principal trade route between Paris, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Begun in the year 910, the monastic center at Cluny expanded and grew in importance. In time, more than 3000 rural Cluniac monasteries used the power of their superior vineyards—and extensive farmlands—to entertain distinguished visitors. It is said that abbots of the 1600’s had more authority here than kings elsewhere.

The monks of this order were the American Express of their age, according to historian Sir Stephen Runciman. Today even the humblest village has at least a couple of fine places to eat, even though its monastery may lie half in ruins. Historians give credit to the Burgundian monks for developing many foods and vintages that later came to be considered haute cuisine.

TRAVEL FROM VINE TO VINE

Nowadays, to travel in France, you can go by boat, horse, balloon, car or bus; you can take art tours, chateaux tours, barge tours, literary tours, history tours or culinary tours—or, you can combine them all and choose a wine tour. By going to where the grapes are grown—in regions first tended by agrarian monks—you will be able to drink some of the most elegant wines in the world.

And yet, in practical terms, a visit to this fabled wine and gastronomy region relieves you of the burdens Paris imposes: of being thin, well-dressed, soignée. When you look around in restaurants in the small towns of Martigny-Cours or Herry or Nevers or Perouges, you see fellow diners with round cheeks and open-necked shirts, really tucking into their pâté de foie gras and their Puligny-Montrachet.

Patricia Wells, an American writer specializing in French food, has written, "The only possible drawback to Burgundy, from the visitor’s point of view, is that there are too many tempting good things." Its culinary map in Larousse’s Gastronomique is a blueprint of foods synonymous with French feasting: coq au vin, escargots in garlic and butter, boeuf à la bourguignonne, omelettes with truffles, jambon a la crème, cherries au kirsch, to name but a few.

TASTE BURGUNDY’S MANY SPECIAL WINES

As for wines—Côte d’Or, Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune are, of course, among the best in the world. Even the area’s ‘lesser’ vintages— Beaujolais, Chablis, Maçonnais, and Pouilly Fumé—have a reputation for greatness. The monks originally chose vineyard lands for their remoteness; now, the properties are recognised for having proper soil, drainage and growing conditions for the vines. Where you find a winery today, you’ll usually have restaurants, inns, museums, chateaux, more often than not located near rivers and valleys. As you sip your Sancerre or Pinot Noir against a backdrop of beautiful landscapes, it goes without saying that you will be eating excellent local dishes.

Recently three friends and I decided that the best way to learn more about French wines and foods would be to rent a self-drive canal boat. We consider ourselves the new breed of midlife traveler: neither marathoners, nor The Over-the-Hill Gang. On a relaxed one-week vacation along the western edge of Burgundy we sampled the best the region had to offer. We drank wine, visited vineyards, saw how wine was made at the adjacent wineries and went to museums of local and viniculture interest. There are almost 1200 miles of navigable waterways in this region, which is one and a half times the size of Wales.

We used a well-known English company, Crown Blue Line, which runs the largest barging operation in France. (Leave it to British to pave the way for Americans to see France.) They have, after all, been invading the continent for centuries and have come to admire their sometime foe across the Channel. Keith Gregory, CEO of the line which offers 500 cruising boats, not just in France, but also England, Holland, Ireland and, starting this year, Germany, wants more Americans to try canal cruising, which the British have enjoyed for decades.

"You do not even need a driving license. We will walk you through the fine points of boat handling. It’s an RV on water, yet, if you want your trip to be even more leisurely, we can offer you the services of a captain," Gregory said. In addition to crew instruction, Crown offers two helpful booklets, The Blue Book, for boat and lock handling, and Waterways Guide, for detailed historic and scenic information about the landmarks of the surrounding countryside.

A vacation on a canal boat is a true invitation to merriment. Our first day, the cocktail hour started around eleven thirty, an hour before lunch. By the end of the journey, someone would announce, usually around ten-oh-five, "It’s kir time, it’s kir time." Made of the famous local black currants, the liqueur, crème de cassis, is mixed with Aligote wine, or if you are feeling fancy, Champagne (in which case it is called a Kir Royale.)

The decidedly refreshing drink is named for one of its biggest boosters, the former mayor of Dijon, Canon Felix Kir. A clergyman who was also a hero of the French Resistance during World War II, he promoted the drink as a way to get people to drink more Aligote, a thinnish wine.

Boat travel excused us from having to face driving at the end of an evening after sampling the local wines. We usually tied up around 4 PM, always near a village, and returned to the boat for the night. Along the way, we asked lock-keepers and villagers for hints on great places to eat within walkable distance, and coordinated our travel around meals. If ever there’s a time for three hour lunch and four hour dinners, this is it, we decided.

GO BY BOAT FROM DECIZE TO SANCERRE

Between us we had a little French and a little boating knowledge, just enough to get by. When we spotted medieval ruins, we would hop off the boat for a hike or a ride, knowing that if we wanted to, we could cut the adventure short and return to the relaxed, well-provisioned boat. Those steering or reading could carry on.

Yet, if everyone wanted to go ashore (to visit wineries, see ivy-covered castles, floral villages, goat and duck farms, vineyards, or pottery workshops), we would tie up. We walked, biked or took a taxi, spending an hour, an afternoon or a day before we returned to what has to be the most relaxed cruising anywhere. We poked into the medieval villages from Decize north to Sancerre, between the fabled countrysides of two of France’s best-known women writers, Georges Sand and Colette. The novelists’ earthy spirits are mirrored here in the rich cooking and heavenly wines.

Many large wine estates welcome visitors and offer tours as well as tastings. We tasted Pouilly-Fume, Sancerre, and Burgundies, and of course, Kir. Some degustation rooms of the wineries prefer you book a reservation. Crown Blue Line will set up your visits to vineyards as well as art and historical museums, such as those found in the town of Nevers.

Our self-drive ‘barge’ was really a cabin cruiser with a very shallow draft. White, modern, about forty feet long, it was very comfortable for the four of us; it could even have accommodated three more people (tightly). The galley was nicely appointed with a stove, sink, cooking utensils and refrigerator. The saloon (dining area) was spacious. Our married friends shared a forward berth. The two of us traveling solo each had a double cabin to ourselves. Each cabin had a self-contained head and shower. We ate our onboard meals – breakfast, ‘elevenses’ and some lunches -- either above decks, beneath a colorful umbrella, or below decks around a table in the saloon. From the elevated deck of the boat, we had a bird’s-eye view, gliding at four miles an hour alongside Romanesque churches, patchwork farm fields and clusters of old stone farm buildings.

Two towns along the canal, Nevers and La Charite sur-Loire, were important stopovers for pilgrims headed to Santiago de Campostelo. Both towns contain fine examples of Romanesque and medieval architecture. Local tourist offices offer tours, maps and booklets. Throughout the year there are musical and food festivals, many timed to coincide with the fall wine harvest or important saints’ days.

We smelled the animal smells and the fragrant scents of the hedges and flowers that lined the canal. Our trip in May yielded brilliant scenery of neon yellow rapeseed fields. Autumn cruising features the glorious red and gold leaves of the vineyards.

USE LYON AS GATEWAY TO PEROUGES

Canal-cruising is of course not the only way to see Burgundy. You can now fly directly from New York, to Lyon, France’s "second city", known for its stylish stores, its famous silks and its convenient location as a gourmet center, only a few miles from Switzerland and on the way to Italy. More than 600 years of Roman occupation left the Lyon region with countless mementos: roads and viaducts, ampitheatres, and forii. Recently it was recognized as an United Nations World Heritage Sight.

After visiting Lyon’s many colorful sites, hire a car and visit the outlying towns and villages. Vines planted by Roman soldiers over 2000 years ago provide the base for some wonderful vintages today. For all her food and wine fame, outside of the urbane city of Lyon, Burgundy is a simple place. Farms, flowers, and the local ruby red Faience pottery are the colorful local treasures. It was as if, having tried ‘the money thing’, the people fell back on just the basics—and a large dollop of joie de vivre.

I was completely charmed by the small village of Perouges, about an hour from Lyon. It was originally settled by silk workers who came to the area hundreds of years before from the Italian hill town of Perugia. Huge honey-colored stones form a wall around the small municipality, which resembles every French village you’ve ever seen in movies, a la Manon of the Spring and Jean de Florette—that’s because it is frequently used by film companies. Cars are not allowed on the winding narrow streets, which converge upon an attractive open square ringed by hotels and shops that are hundreds of years old.

During two recent trips, I concluded that Burgundy has some of the finest food offered anywhere in the world. All over the region, from the Lyonnais bouchons—which serve country-style food—and the upscale places in the city to St. Parize le Chatel, a cozy pine-paneled restaurant in Uxeloup, I tasted the region’s specialties: tender Bresse chickens, fine cuts of Charolais beef, blue cheeses, fresh fresh vegetables. Even the simplest house wine offered with these dishes was excellent.

At La Ferme Auberge des Barreaux, a farmhouse-inn restaurant in Herry, we ate a meal as memorable as any served by MFK Fisher or Julia Child. We ‘addled our palates’ from noon to five with extraordinary pates, duck roasted in wine and a selection of goat and cow milk cheeses, washed down with lovely white Burgundys.

At Matigny-Cours, we ate at the formidable La Renaissance, where chef Jean-Claude Dray created a creamy mushroom soup with baby shrimp. One of the main dishes was sandre, a creamed shad, from the Loire. The other was a beef filet so tender that it dissolved on my tongue. Gourmet adventures can be had at the Hostellerie de Perouges, a Bonne Table with costumed waitresses and hearty local fare.

Between meals I tried as hard as I could to exercise. Cycling on curving country roads past the marble-white Charolais cattle, I thought to myself that Julia Child never pedaled as fast as I did. (After the trip, I weighed in, and, remarkably, found I never gained an ounce.)

When I came across farm women working in their gardens, I would yell out, "Bon jour, Madame, il fait beau aujourdhui, n’est-ce pas?" Inevitably I was greeted with a big smile and long string of French words that I could only nod to. Au revoir, mes amis. I'll be back for more of my food and wine pilgrimage.

Other wine regions to follow. Next up, Vine to Vine, II: Alsace.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Lyon Office of Tourisme
Crown Blue Line 888 355.9491
Le Boat, Inc. 800 992.0291
Regional Office of Tourism – Nevers 0386684600
Air France 800 237.2747

Photographs by Marguerite Jordan

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