Bryan Collins
Posts: 2355
Joined: 7/14/2006
From: Bedfordshire, UK
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1. The land is divided up into two main regions: 1 cote de nuits and 2 cote de beaune (lets ignore chablis and beaujoulais etc… for now)
Correct. All the red Grands Crus apart from Corton are in the Cote de Nuits. All the white Grands Crus are in the Cote de Beaune. There are many very good reds in the Cote de Beaune, but relatively few very good whites in the Cotes de Nuits. The two Cotes are collectively known as the Cote d'Or (golden slope.)
2. These two main regions are further subdivided into areas (volnay, pommard etc …)
Correct - the names of these "areas" are generally the names of the main village in each one. Often these village names have changed over the years to incorporate the name of one of their most famous vineyards - eg Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin, etc.
3. These areas are then divided into “plots” which are called vineyards
Correct - although not all of the land in these areas is necessarily under vine.
4. A grower grows grapes on the “plots”/vineyards
Yep.
5. The quality of the grapes was predetermined (Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Village and Regional) etc ..
Pretty much. It's important to remember that the classification level depends on the POTENTIAL quality of that vineyard. For example, if some doofus bought Romanée-St-Vivant, a Grand Cru vineyard, and made rubbish wine for 50 years, it would still be a Grand Cru vineyard.
6. A producer (winemaker), who is not the grower, then buys grapes from the vineyards
Sometimes. Many, if not most, of the very top wines are made by producers who own the vines from which their grapes come, but there are some extremely grand wines that are "negociant" wines - ie the winemaker buys in the grapes, or sometimes even signs a long-term agreement with the vineyard owner to look after the vines and make wine from the grapes. Many big names in Burgundy like Jadot and Drouhin operate in both ways; some of their wines, often called "domaine" wines, are from their own grapes, while other wines, called "negociant" or sometimes another term such as "maison" wines, are from bought-in grapes or leased vines. Also bear in mind that most vineyards in Burgundy are owned by many different growers - dozens, often - who may sometimes only own a row or two of vines each.
7. A producer can buy grapes from several plots and thus make several wines from different places, but does not mix grapes for Grand or Premier Cru
Or, indeed, own several vineyards in several villages and make wine from all of them. If the grapes from more than one Premier Cru vineyard are blended together, then as long as the vineyards are in the same appellation (ie village), the wine can still be sold as Premier Cru, but without a vineyard designation. But if they are from different appellations, it becomes basic Bourgogne. Also, wines can be "declassified" - if a producer owns vines in a very posh vineyard and thinks some of the fruit is not up to the quality they'd like, they can move it down a quality level. Many producers with Grand Cru vineyards will sell some wine from that vineyard as Premier Cru or even village-level wine, most commonly the fruit from young vines that have been recently replanted (vines are not immortal.)
8. If the producer bought Grand Cru grapes, the wine can be labeled Grand Cru along with the vineyard name and the producer
Yep. Although often a Grand Cru wine won't actually say "Grand Cru" on the label in an obvious manner. Grands Crus in Burgundy are their own appellation - for example, a Musigny is NOT from the appellation "Chambolle-Musigny", as all C-M Premier Cru and village wines are, but rather from the appelation "Musigny".
9. As opposed to Bordeaux the vineyard (land plot) is more the focus of the wine and not the producer.
Hmmmmm. Yes and no. The vineyard ("terroir") is certainly a major factor, but so is the grower/producer. For example, a Clos St Jacques (a famous and great Premier Cru vineyard in Gevrey Chambertin) from Armand Rousseau will often cost £250+ per bottle, whereas a wine from the same vineyard from Sylvie Esmonin will probably be under £100. Also some larger vineyards have "good" bits and "not so good" bits, and it's worth knowing which producers own the better bits. All in all I would say that Burgundy is ALL about producer. I would happily buy a wine I'd never tried from a producer I'd trusted, but I'd be much, much more circumspect about buying a "famous" vineyard from a producer I've never heard of.
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Burgundy 101 ... please - 
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