These are the rooftops of Tonnerre, pop. 4,500, in Burgundy. Even though tonnerre in French means "thunder", that's not where
the name comes from. In ancient Gaul, the place was called Tornodurum,
meaning "fortress". Tonnerre is just 10 or 12 miles east of Chablis, pop. 2,200.
Archeological digs around Tonnerre have shown that there were
settlements here in the Bronze Age, as long as 4,000 years ago.
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I just learned this morning that there are vineyards around this town too. White, red, and rosé wines are made in the Tonnerrois. The vignoble du Tonnerrois covers nearly 2,000 acres (about 3 mi²) of land, while the nearby vignoble du Chablis is six times larger at 12,000 acres (nearly 20 mi²). For comparison, the whole Touraine AOC vineyard (13,000 acres, including Azay-le-Rideau, Amboise, Chenonceaux, Saint-Aignan, and Blois) is only slightly larger than Chablis.
Tornodurum... interesting new word!
ReplyDeleteAnd, amazing piece of info about the size of the Chablis vineyards.
The red roofs are attractive. I am going to pay more attention to the labels of wine I encounter and see if I recognize and of these locations.
ReplyDeleteOne landmark in Tonnerre is the Fosse Dionne, a spring fed by rain water in part and by a subterranean river making it more or less akin to Fontaine de Vaucluse. No wine in there!
ReplyDelete