Brilliant. A perfect blend of factual data coupled with Allen’s unique insight into the great terroirs of Burgundy. The reference standard for both beginners as well as Burgundy aficionados. A must have! You can listen to the material 100 times and learn something new every time!!!
M.N., Georgia, USA
For Christmas my wife bought me the Burgundy Essentials Audio series. Please, tell Allen for me, I am quite upset with his NOT publishing this audio series ten or fifteen years ago! It would have saved me enormous amounts of time, money, and hours of frustration. Essentials is a wonderful, informative, and so very well done series. Having gone through the Burgundy education process now for years, the biggest complement I can pay Allen is the logic he has been able to bring and impose on a region that so defies it. Wow! Very well done!
KH, Massachusetts, USA
This is undoubtedly among the most useful Burgundy resources available anywhere, in any format. In addition to its convenience, the audio series imparts confidence in pronunciation and in piecing together the many subtleties of Burgundy which can sometimes prove elusive in writing. For me as a beginner, this is like sitting down with Allen Meadows himself to review the “must-know” topics in Burgundy, and I’m finding it to be an invaluable discussion…Thank you again for producing this wonderful content.
H.G. Georgia, USA
Indispensable! As a relatively new Burgundy fan (but a long time Bordeaux and California wine collector), I was at a loss as to where to start. Despite reading a number of books on the subject, I still felt relatively lost by the complexity of the region simply because the material is so vast. The audio series is a terrific way to get a handle on the big picture and a wonderful introduction, giving me the confidence to begin more adventurous purchases and to participate in on-line auctions. As a non-French speaking enthusiast, the audio series truly added the dimension of a pronunciation guide to the learning experience for me… My wife and I are travelling to Burgundy in 2016 and I have your travel guide as well. You have lowered my anxiety level by orders of magnitude! Thank you.
L.F., California, USA
I’ve listened to and read a lot of material on Burgundian wine. Nothing I’ve yet encountered matches the quality of your audio series. Perhaps the most amazing thing is the appeal to both beginners and experts. Which is to say that you can listen to this program at various points throughout your study of Burgundy and each time there will be massive amounts of useful information. Can’t thank you enough for this program.
SH, New York, USA
You have undertaken an unbelievably difficult task, and I am overcome by how well this presentation has been written. It is very clear and concise. (I have at least a hundred such books, and I love your concise conversational style, densely packed with little waste.) You are covering a lot of ground and keeping the language clear, which will be very helpful for non-native English speakers… I really like the tone – authoritative while self-effacing and comforting – nothing self-serving at all – very observational style and even handed. Allen is a good storyteller.
DB, Michigan, USA
I was concerned about downloading a new media player, but it was simple and I now have the program on my iPhone and laptop so I can listen to one on the run, and one when I can sit and work with the packet of materials you provided that help me with the French words and vocabulary, as well as locations of the various communes on the maps. (And thank you because when I upgraded to a new iPhone, I just wrote you and you were able to easily disable the series on the old phone so I could download on the new one!). The material is monumental. I have been collecting burgundy for decades and felt I was quite knowledgeable, but I realized how much I still had to learn. Loved it.
J.S., United Kingdom
I am relatively new to collecting Burgundies (after collecting Bordeaux for many years) and the audio series made me much more knowledgeable. The region is more understandable and I can make better choices now in my purchases. I am a much more savvy collector and found out about other producers and wines to purchase to add to my cellar. It really was full of useful information and I have relistened to it several times – while taking copious notes.
S.G., Singapore
Kudos to Allen and the Burghound team for doing a yeomans share of heavy lifting navigating the burgundy land mines! I find myself continually going back to specific chapters while I try to differentiate each climat. My favorite part of the series was the buying tips, especially recommendations as to less expensive choices that are super quality/value….Thanks again for this great work.
M.H., Pennsylvania, USA
I have found Burgundy Essentials an important aspect in furthering my Burgundy education. I keep it on my iPad and frequently revisit sections. This reinforcement helps me to continue to build my knowledge and more importantly my appreciation and pleasure of the wines of Burgundy. I hope you have more of these planned!
C.C., California, USA
This program has been a real experience and has given me a lot of new insight into Burgundy. Allen delivers it very professionally and with passion and it is a real enjoyment to listen to. It must be a required program for all who would like to learn much more about Burgundy.
HI, Denmark
I must say that I am very pleased with both the content and the format of the audio series. It has the right level of details without being cumbersome. I think you’ve done a great job at categorizing and segmenting the series. It’s good that one can move from sections to sections depending on interest (and what’s on the menu for a given day…). …I am glad I purchased it. It helped me greatly in my understanding of Burgundy and its wines.
J.L, Illinois, USA
The podcast is fantastic – great material, well presented and thoroughly informative…I really enjoy it and find it interesting, easy to listen to and informative….
A.D., Canada
I would strongly recommend the Burgundy Essentials Audio Series for any busy person who wants to learn more about Burgundy and its wines! What better way than to learn then by auditory osmosis from an expert whilst driving, flying in plane or just when you have nothing to do. You only need to listen carefully and rewind if needed, to confirm information that might be missed! I think it is a bargain for the price and for all the effort as well!
LF, Australia
I am newer to Burgundy over the past three years and I absolutely loved the series. I listened to it about 3-4 times and printed out the included index which I both highlighted and wrote my own notes on as well. Whenever I want to review them or I forget a specific point I have these as reference. The series has helped me to better understand Burgundy as a wine region and Allen’s passion and enthusiasm for the wines is infectious and inspiring.
JO, California, USA
…I have been drinking and cellaring wine for over 40 years. I have previously concentrated on Bordeaux and California wines [and Italian]…I had long avoided Burgundy. This is certainly not because the wines did not appeal to me. Rather I found the array of regions, districts, merchant houses, cooperatives and negociants all to be thoroughly bewildering and intimidating. The prospect of venturing into this world was made all the scarier by the a) price of well rated wines, b) the evident wide range of styles, and c) the fact that the wines appeared to require A LOT of age to develop. The upshot was, I felt I would very likely waste a lot of time and money trying to break the surface and get started. When I finally decided to take a first step in that direction, I subscribed to Burghound last year. I was pleasantly surprised to find Allen’s Burgundy Essentials audio series being offered and jumped at the chance to get a “crash course”. After going through the series (and repeating some key sections more than once), I am perfectly satisfied that it met my needs. Though there is a mountain of information, Allen presents it clearly and logically. It has gone a long way to “demystifying” the byzantine structure of the area. While I remain a novice, I now have sufficient confidence to experiment with various vineyards and producers without being overly fearful. I especially appreciated Allen’s intonation, and habit of repeating significant points during the audio. Pretty esoteric stuff which could easily become sleep inducing over its many hours. Allen skillfully avoided that, and kept my interest level high throughout…Thanks to you [Erica] and Allen for getting me started in Burgundy life.
B.J., Colorado, USA
I think that you guys did a great job breaking down each sub region, and the geographical approach to Burgundy made for a perfect listening “journey”. It also helped tremendously for memory recall of the order of sub regions, for example, the sub regions of Cotes de Nuits being arranged from north to south within the program. About a week after my second listen (I listened twice), I was at Sixteen restaurant in Chicago and the sommelier was selling me on a bottle of Marsannay. I had never considered Marsannay before and prior to the program, I would have had zero knowledge. But, I was able to at least converse a bit as I recalled, “isn’t that the most northern sub region in the Cotes de Nuits?” It helped remembering that it was first in the program, and first was north. So the order of appearance in the audio program being linked to geography is useful…
BS, Illinois, USA
The audio series was excellent and comprehensive.
J.C., Toronto, Canada
I found the series incredibly detailed and helpful. We just returned from Burgundy and now I’m anxious to listen to the entire series again! Very reasonably priced for the depth of material.
B.E., Atlanta, GA
… am enjoying the audio instruction…Reinforcing what I know and letting me know what I don’t know! Splendidly done…I have been through many courses with English major and then medical school…wish they all could have been as clear and concise…
J.D., Tennessee, USA
I can’t imagine that there could be more information in that much time. I listened to the entire program and found myself having to take notes due to the huge amount of information. I will likely listen to it again. It is very well done and professional. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in an in-depth education on Burgundy. Very, very well done and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
J.D., Indiana, USA
I really enjoyed the audio…I found it to be very informative. Allen has excellent enunciation skills, as well as encyclopedic knowledge of Burgundy. I highly recommend this as a valuable source for those desiring Burgundy knowledge.
J.P., Louisiana, USA
Really enjoyed the audio series, it’s informative, detailed and broad enough to capture the various intricacies in Burgundy in a digestible and on the go format. Perfect for a frequent traveler or something to listen to by the beach!
M.V., Hong Kong
I just finished listening to your audio series – (applause!) quite an effort on your part and well worth the dollars on mine. First let me say that I appreciate the quality of English. I appreciate well-formed sentences as well as well-developed Burgundies and yours have the quality of prose that is rare to find these days… In twelve hours of speech I don’t think you ever dangled a participle, split an infinitive, or (as they say) used a preposition to end a sentence with…I liked your comment about a good Musigny “bringing you to your knees”, although that will cost me dearly. And also your point about an ideal dinner being a progression of Villages, Premier Crus, and Grand Cru and a mix of communes, and not just Grand Crus (which will save me some, but not enough to make up for the Musigny). Thanks again for the audio series.
B.H., Connecticut, USA
I truly enjoyed the audio, it was extremely helpful in familiarizing myself with the place and wine of Burgundy. The quality of the recording was excellent and it was laid out it a very logical manor.
BK, Wisconsin
I have listened to the audio track many times and found it is very useful. The content is very informative and the coverage is suitable for Burgundy beginners. I benefited greatly…
H.S., Hong Kong
For information on the Burgundy Essentials Audio Series or to purchase, please click here.
