Episode 470 of I’ll Drink to That! was released recently, and it features Jacques Seysses, who founded Domaine Dujac in Burgundy in the late 1960s.
Straight away, the name Domaine Dujac (“The Domaine of Jacques”) informs you how closely the Burgundy winery is associated with its founder and longtime winemaker. However, we rarely nowadays get a chance to hear from Jacques himself. He has entered into semi-retirement, and apparently prefers the company of friends over speaking engagements. But here is a chance to hear from someone who was right at the heart of the Burgundy red wine renaissance. Jacques’ career connects innovators like Gérard Potel, with whom Jacques did harvest, with legendary figures like Aubert de Villaine, and people who would become the next generation of Burgundy stars, for example Christophe Roumier, with whom Jacques went to school. That stretch of the Burgundy timeline, from the 1960s through to today, has seen the region go from little talked about to the top of the wine world, with the wines coveted all over the planet. Jacques recalls in this interview that in the 1960s, Burgundy domaine owners would make a living and not much more, while the brightest children in the family were encouraged to do something else, outside of wine. Now, he says, the situation is reversed: Burgundy’s greatest wines have a lot of demand, and the smartest people want to work in wine. Also, Jacques says, the character of the wines has changed because the climate has changed. Jacques is clear that, in his opinion, Global Warming has been a positive for Burgundy. Perhaps he has some of the extremely cold winters of the 1970s in mind when he says that Burgundy has only changed for the better. If you would like to get a better sense of those changes, check out this interview.
Listen to this episode:
I’ll Drink to That is the world’s most listened-to wine podcast, hosted by Levi Dalton. Levi has had a long career working as a sommelier in some of the most distinguished and acclaimed dining rooms in America. He has served wine to guests of Restaurant Daniel, Masa, and Alto, all in Manhattan. Levi has also contributed articles on wine themes to publications such as The Art of Eating, Wine & Spirits magazine, Bon Appetit online, and Eater NY. Check out his pictures on Instagram and follow him on Twitter: @leviopenswine
