8
Currents
October 2016
Globetrotter
By: Max Edwards
Beaune, the Wine Capital of Burgundy
Same location for 19 years • “S. FL’s finest & friendliest PGA/LPGA Instruction right in your back yard”.
Even for those not enamored of wine, Beaune
(“bone' eh”) beckons. This small city, in eastern
France, nestles in the Côte-d'Or (golden slope) of the
Burgundy region.
Equidistant from Paris and
Geneva, Beaune is served by speedy TGV (The
Grande Vitesse) trains from Lyon or Dijon.
Beaune comprises two millennia of Europe's history. First-century Romans, early settlers, soon discovered the terroir (earth) that could produce superior wine. Viniculture thrives here, owing to Climate
(hot summers, cold winters); Soil; and Geomorphology (influences of mountains, valleys, lakes/rivers,
rainfall, and elevation).
Mon., Oct. 3rd
Healthcare developed in Beaune, too, with a
focus upon preserving patient dignity. In 1442, during famine and plague, Nicolas Rolin and his wife
founded the Hospices de Beaune. We are familiar
with Rolin, who served the Duke of Burgundy, from
Jan van Eyck's 1435 masterpiece, “The Virgin with
Chancellor Rolin” (the Louvre). Rolin had commissioned the work for his parish church in Autun,
France.
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