Topographical lexicon

Bourgogne : the name of Burgundy comes from that of early Germanic invaders, the "Burgondes", who came to the area two centuries before the Franks

Nuits-Saint-Georges : from "noa" (a small valley with a pond at the bottom) or "naud" (wet ground) or "nubia" (fertile mud, in Celtic) ; these roots have also given us the French words for nuts and hazelnuts (nux, nucis in Latin). The origins of this town come from Gallo-Roman times. In the past, it was called Nuits-Sous-Beaune ; it took its current name in 1892. The "Nuitons" (people from Nuits) decided to attach to the town's name that of its most famous vineyard, the "Saint Georges."
Nuits-Saint-Georges is a name known even on the moon. The American astronauts of the Apollo XV lunar mission baptized a crater "Saint-Georges." In memory of the hero in Jules Verne's novel "From the Earth to the Moon", they opened a bottle of Nuits-Saint-Georges while there.

Saint-Georges : a student of Saint Eulogius of Cordova, this is not the famous saint who slew the dragon. The body of Saint George, after he was martyred, was taken to the Abbey of Saint Germain des Prés near Paris. On the way, its remains were rested (with those of two other martyrs) not far from Nuits. A miracle occured : Saint George appeared to a thief and caused him to repent his crimes. Following the miracle, a walled vineyard at Nuits, owned by Chapel of Saint Julian, takes the name of Saint George.

Chambolle : cham-, "chaumes" :grassy ground ; -bolle : a marsch. Chambolle is next to a cave, close to a spring which waters the area. The village was established on bedrock and a small area of gravel.

Les "Cras" (Chambolle-Musigny) : normally meaning chalk, the crumbly, breakable limestone from our area does not produce chalk, but breaks into small splinters called Cras. In other parts of France, Cras or Cros indicates either crows, or bare ground where only stones (cras) can grow.

Les "Charmes" (Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru) : Charme” indicates old cultivated fields left to go wild. Chambertin could be a field (champ) owned by or named after someone named “Bertin.”

Le Clos des "Argillières" (Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru) : named after the "argillaceous" (clay-based) soil.

Les "Cailles" (Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru) : could be a derivation from the word "cailloux" (stones).

"Lavaux" Saint-Jacques (Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru) : Lavaux or Lavaut would come from the word "val," which indicates hilly ground.

"Clos Prieur" (Gevrey-Chambertin) : named after its owned, the Prior of the Abbey of Cluny.

Les "Terres Blanches" (Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru) : named after the white color of the soil, with white being the color of the limestone rocks and pebbles found on the surface of the vineyard.

Vosne-Romanée : Vidubia, a way-station on the Roman road from Lyon to Coblenz; de vidu (wood).

Sources : le vignoble bourguignon et ses lieux-dits de Marie-Hélène Landrieu-Lussigny, la Côte de Nuits au grand jour de Charlotte Fromont, l'OT de Nuits-Saint-Georges d'Etienne Breton, le site http://crehangec.free.fr, le site http://www.cellierdebourgogne.com/fr/histoire.html

Books

Already a fan of Burgundy? THE book that you have to get: Inside Burgundy, Jasper Morris. Soon available on Ipad

Other writer to discover, such as Jacky Rigaux,
or Allen Meadows (Vosne Romanee, the pearl of the cote)