Burgundy numbers 22,359 farms and 36,600 farm workers, representing 5.5% of the working population. In addition, the food processing industry employs 10,600 people. In this region with a long farming tradition, AOC wine growing, cereals and cattle breeding represent 75% of its production. The effective farm area is 1.9 million hectares, or roughly 60% of the region’s territory (including 1,014 million hectares of arable land, 800,000 hectares of grazing land and 27,680 hectares of vineyards). In 2006, Burgundy ranked among France’s nine largest farming regions: 2nd for large cattle after Pays de Loire, 3rd for wine-growing, in 6th and 9th place for large-scale crops and cereals (including 316,000 hectares soft wheat, 142,400 hectares of barley and 170,900 hectares of colza).

Renowned for the quality of its livestock (1.35 million head), Burgundy is strongly identified with the Charolais breed (Label Rouge). This beef breed is one of the treasures of Burgundy’s heritage and has been widely exported around the world. Generously built (145 cm and 1000 to 1400 kg for males, 140 cm and 720 to 900 kg for females), Charolais cattle have a uniformly white or cream hide, with short, curved horns. The meat is a lovely, bright red and stands out because it is tasty, very tender and has a fine, delicate marbling. Charolles beef cattle produce an exceptional meat that owes its future AOC to the typicality of the land (steady, heavy rainfall, dense hydric network, fertile grazing land, etc.) and natural, GMO-free feed.

Burgundy stands out for its very large quality-certified poultry production and 68% of the farmers in the region are wholly committed to all the existing procedures: AOC “Bresse chicken” and “Bresse turkey”, Label Rouge and IGP, CCP, AB. As a result, 64% of the meat chickens are produced under quality labels, compared to the national average of 24%. Bresse chicken (the only AOC chicken) is identified by a ring on the left foot, a red-white-blue seal at the bottom of the neck and an AOC label that specifies its production area. Similar to the colours of our flag, with blue feet, white plumage and meat, red comb and wattles, Bresse chicken is a national ‘symbol’ of quality.

Regional milk production totalled 3,576,520 hectolitres in 2006. The quality of the milk is due to the richness of the pastures and grazing land, which makes cheeses full of flavour. Among the most famous, Epoisses is a cheese with a soft, melt-in-the-mouth centre, made from unpasteurized whole cow’s milk. Its rind is brushed with Burgundy marc, giving it a distinctive orange-red colour. Creamy and fruity, it benefits from an AOC and AOP.
Charolais (AOC pending) has a cylindrical shape and is made from unpasteurized goat’s milk, with a cream or blue-tinged rind. Its aroma deepens with age.
Mâconnais (AOC, AOP pending) is a small goat’s cheest, with a pale, slightly salty centre that evolves with ripening.
Chaource (AOC - AOP) is a soft cheese with a smooth, slightly salty centre and mouldy rind, with a cream and mushroom smell.

Burgundy has a unique wine industry, characterized by an astonishing diversity of terroirs, split up into vineyards and micro-climates (hamlets), located at an altitude of 250 to 500 m, mostly facing south-east. Estimated at 3% of national production, grouping one hundred AOC (33 great wines, 44 AOC local and first growth wines and 23 AOC regional wines), it produced 1,529,280 hectolitres (61% white, 31% red and rosé, 8% sparkling) in 2007, representing 203 million bottles (55% exported to 140 countries).
The principal grape varieties are:
● Chardonnay (46% of the vine stock) used in vintage white wines with rich, balanced bouquets;
● Pinot noir (36% of the vine stock) produces all red wines (except Passetoutgrain and Mâcon), often wines for keeping, full of flavours and subtle;
● Gamay (11% of the vine stock) produces red wines from granite soils (especially in Beaujolais);
● Aligoté (6% of vine stock) makes fresh, fruity white wines to be drunk young;
● Sauvignon (white wines like Pouilly-Fumé, Saint-Bris) and César (red wines like Irancy) represent 1% of the total vine stock. Stretching from Auxerre to Mâcon over 27,680 hectares, the principal appellations or terroirs are :

▪ Le Chablisien (89) donne exclusivement des blancs très appréciés (petit chablis, chablis, chablis 1er cru et chablis grand cru avec sept grands crus délicats dont Blanchots, les Preuses, Bourgros, Les Clos, Grenouilles…).

▪ Le Grand Auxerrois (89) produit 60% de vins blancs frais (dont le Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre, Bourgogne Tonnerre, Saint-Bris…), 40% de rouges (dont Irancy…). Certaines appellations (dont Chitry, Coulanges la Vineuse, Côte Saint-Jacques, Epineuil…) sont produites en blancs et rouges

▪ Chablisien (89) exclusively produces very popular white wines (Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru and Chablis Grand Cru with seven fine vintage wines including Blanchots, Preuses, Bourgros, Les Clos, Grenouilles).
▪ Grand Auxerrois (89) produces 60% of fresh white wines (including Bourgogne Côtes d’Auxerre, Bourgogne Tonnerre, Saint-Bris), 40% of reds (including Irancy). Some appellations (including Chitry, Coulanges la Vineuse, Côte Saint-Jacques, Epineuil) are produced in white and red. .

Similarly, the superb Bourgogne truffle (tuber uncinatum Chatin), a jewel with hazelnut and mushroom aromas, add its touch of nobility to the gastronomy. Burgundy cooked meats (with quality labels) are rightfully famous through products like parsley ham infused with Aligoté white wine (IGP pending) from an ancient recipe (14th century), chitterlings sausages (andouillettes) from Chablis (pork) and from Clamecy (pork and veal), cured ham with wine dregs (marinated in Burgundy wine), ham from Morvan (aged seven months on the Morvan high slopes), rosette from Morvan (dry sausage), pork liver sausage (jesus) from the Morvan and Chablis (dry), judru from Nolay and Chagny (meaning “chubby-cheeked”, a 3-pound sausage), terrines from the Morvan, etc. The region is well watered by its many rivers so it has superb fish (zander, trout, pike, carp, tench, etc.) and crayfish and lots of recipes. Mustard is an emblematic product that has become more or less universally known under the generic name “Dijon mustard”, (simply a manufacturing process), where as the authentic mustard is “Burgundy mustard”, the only mustard with an IGP (manufactured to specific specifications from seeds cultivated in Burgundy and AOC Bourgogne Aligoté white wine). Made with wheat flour, gingerbread (brought back from Asia by the Crusaders) is a popular Burgundy “sweet”, with hints of cinnamon, clove or green aniseed, honey from the Morvan or Pays d’Othe (heather or acacia). It can be tried in ring biscuits (crunchy with almonds) or iced (small rounds with jam).

France Aubriet
(Chairman of SAS Bourgogne Escargots)

« Our company was founded forty years ago and employs 35 people on average (increasing to 70 in the last few months of the year), producing 120 tons of raw materials (meat). The meat is that of the famous Burgundy snail (helix pomatia), symbol of the region. Also known as the “vineyard snail”, it is the most famous and most sold snail in France (East and North) and especially in Burgundy. It is usually consumed (70%) at the end of the year. Our productions essentially involve the prepared product raw (40%) and frozen (40%), notably “à la bourgignonne” (stuffed with butter, parsley, garlic and shallots). The remainder (20%) is canned. Our clientele breaks down as follows: 60% large and medium-sized supermarkets and domestic consumption, 25% catering wholesalers, 15% retailers. The French market is relatively steady, consuming 1,500 tons of snails (10% picked). The Burgundy snail is becoming rarer in France and now comes mostly from Eastern Europe. Snail breeding represents less than 2% of production. It is a typical dish on brasserie menus, while some chefs include it on the menu in various original recipes. Our region is known for its wines, products and gastronomy and our association, Vive La Bourgogne, is deeply involved in promoting the region through different events, like the Rungis event, set up by the Burgundy regional council ».

Marc Désarménien
(Manager of Fallot, a mustard-manufacturer, President of the association Vive La Bourgogne)

« This is a family business founded in 1840 and I actually succeeded my grandfather and father. The company has 19 employees and produces 200 tons of mustard a year, which represents 4 million pots (from 25 g to 5 kg), half of which is exported (USA, Asia, Oceania, Australia, Europe, etc.). Our mustard is upmarket but at an affordable price. It is sold in delicatessens, commercial catering and hotels rating stars. It comes in a stoneware pot under the “Moutarde de Bourgogne” appellation and we are the only company that makes it. It now benefits from a product certification (CQC) and should obtain an ICP by the end of the year. Contrary to Dijon mustard, which is a manufacturing process rather than an appellation, “Moutarde de Bourgogne” has to meet certain specifications, such as being seed grown and harvested in Burgundy, stone ground (as in the past, to prevent heating and preserve the aromas), Aligoté de Bourgogne white wine (replacing the sour wine used in the old days). Burgundy has a great diversity of lovely products so 23 producers have set up the Vive la Bourgogne association that I chair to make them more widely known. The “Burgundy at Rungis” operation is important to us and could not have been done without the regional council’s backing. ».

Jacques Rebillard
(Vice-president of the Burgundy regional council, in charge of agriculture and forestry)

« Our region has three major types of production, namely wine, cereals and beef (Charolais). The wine production is symbolic of the policy adopted by our region. It is a very well identified, top quality production that reaches regional, national and international markets. There are also other quality productions such as dairy farming, sheep farming and other more specific productions like cassis liqueur, cheeses (Epoisses, Chaource, Mâconnais, etc.), AOC and Label poultry, etc. These are high quality niche products that also contribute to the Burgundy region’s fame. We support the idea of an ambitious regional policy of quality productions, capable of spreading our products throughout the world. In this respect, the Regional Council’s role is complementary to the actions taken by the State and Europe. It has the role of organizing the sectors, from production to conversion, and the role of supporting these sectors through a number of actions (technical support, innovation, promotion, organizing markets and events, etc.). In this light, we consider the operation at Rungis as very important for several reasons. Rungis is a quality market that really corresponds to the type of clientele we are looking for (small and medium-sized local retailers) and is consistent with our products. We are optimistic about the future because we’ve gone from a situation of over-production to a quality approach. There is a widespread movement to revitalize our country based on action by the regions ».

Catherine Troubat
(Manager of Les Anis de Flavigny)

« This delicious little aniseed sweet dates back to 1591. Used at the time in Dijon gingerbread, the monks at the abbey of Flavigny started making sweets with this seed in the Middle Ages. When the monks left in 1789, the villagers took over its production. It is still the same small round sweet today. A truly French symbol, it is always sold in a small, handy oval box of 50g, depicting the shepherd and shepherdess, and is available in other flavours like violet, liquorice, mint, orange blossom and lemon. I took over the company (25 employees) from my father and grandfather. The production remains steady at 230 million sweets a year (or 230 tons) and 25% is exported (USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Europe, etc.). The Dutch are its greatest fans, after the French. Burgundy has made a name for itself with all its quality products (wine, mustard, gingerbread, cassis, snails, cheeses, aniseed, etc.) so it deserves to be presented at Rungis, which is a superb showcase and a launching pad for our producers and products. This operation at Rungis is an excellent idea by the Burgundy regional council. ».