by Elizabeth Smith
D
uring my 2021 trip to Bourgogne, I met two inspirational women in wine, Anne-Laure Chartron of Domaine Jean Chartron and Estelle Prunier of Domaine Michel Prunier and Fille. In an interview, they shared their family holiday traditions, memories, and menus.
Anne-Laure Chartron “Before Le Père Noël (who arrived in the 1960s), we had Père Janvier in Bourgogne. He would bring presents New Year’s Eve instead of Christmas Eve. This was tradition when I was a child,” recalled Chartron. When the celebration moved to Christmas Eve, Chartron’s mother served homemade escargots in parsley and garlic butter, wild goose and duck fois gras, boudin blanc, Bourgogne cheeses, and Bûche de Noël. On Christmas Day, her family enjoyed fois gras and turkey with chestnuts, the latter which they paired with their own PulignyMontrachet Premier Cru, Clos du Cailleret, Rouge (Pinot Noir), and concluded with Bûche glacée or vacherin meringué.
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Estelle Prunier The Pruniers celebrate Christmas Day with a blind wine tasting lunch. “We often include a wine to trick the guests like a New World one,” shared Prunier. They serve their holiday meal with their own wines (except dessert): an apéritif of Crémant de Bourgogne, oysters with Aligoté Bourgogne, smoked salmon with Chorey-lesBeaune blanc, foie gras with an older vintage Meursault, chapon (capon) with an older Volnay Premier Cru les Caillerets, cheeses with an older Auxey-Duresses Premier Cru, Clos du Val, and Bûche de Noël with a vin doux naturel like Banyuls.
Bûche de Noël Chartron reminded me that Bûche de Noël originated in Bourgogne. “During the Middle Ages, the people of Bourgogne used real logs decorated with sweets (dried grapes or blackcurrants). It was a real treat for the children!”
Photos, from left: Visiting Estelle Prunier © Stevie Bobès; Anne-Laure Chartron and Elizabeth Smith © Stevie Bobès; Estelle Prunier © Elizabeth Smith
Bourgogne Holiday Traditions, Memories, and Menus
