Burgundy’s true colours

No longer purely the preserve of wine aficionados, Anthea Gerrie gets a taste of Burgundy’s secrets

They come from all over the world to worship at an arched gate set within ancient golden stone walls which stretch up a hill. This is no church, but it’s not too strong to call their journey a pilgrimage. For wine aficionados the grands crus of Burgundy are practically a religion, and for many, Le Montrachet, most famous of all the region’s vineyards, holds the significance of a place of worship.

Yet despite the cameras snapping away, few of these wine lovers dare to step through the gate and into the hallowed vines, except our own little group. Not just gazing and worshipping but tasting some of the world’s finest white wine, as grape aficionado Dennis Sherman sets a bottle of Chassagne-Montrachet on a wall and pours us an ever-so-extravagant little drop.

This is Dennis’s shtick — demystifying Burgundy, getting in where others fear to tread and giving his guests a great time, as well as an education in what to see and drink in Burgundy.

For this lovely part of France, less than two hours south of Paris, is rich in history, not least Jewish history; the capital is Dijon, which has retained a flourishing community, despite an initial expulsion in 1394 and a further purge during the Second World War.

The great joy of this region is the succession of charming villages bearing the names of great wines — Gevrey Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanee — and the de facto capital of Burgundy for wine lovers, the gorgeous and historic little town of Beaune. It’s dominated by the spectacular mosaic-roofed Hotel-Dieu, a medieval hospital which still serves as a pretty posh old age home for locals, and whose annual auction of local wines — including its own Hospices de Beaune production — is the biggest date in the Burgundy calendar.

It’s near Beaune that Dennis and his wife Ellie have restored a lovely manor house where they organise their Burgundy trips in a house party setting. Until this year, it was a treat reserved for Americans prepared to rent the whole six-bedroomed house, but is now available on selected dates to anyone looking for a long weekend.

Domaine de Cromey is pretty well perfect — spacious, beamed suites in which to sleep, a fabulous formal din-