As part of the L'Ecole de Vins de Bourgogne, we traveled to Chablis. We visited the Grand Cru vineyard sites of the Cote de Beaune and the Cote de Nuits. We tasted Corton, Echezeaux, Chevelier-Montrachet, Batard-Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne, Bonnes Mares and a host of premier cru vineyard bottlings that were as heart-stopping as they were full of finesse.

We tasted terroir.

It was real.

But herein lies the rub. You won't taste "terroir" for $10 a bottle. You can't taste terroir for $20. You have to invest at least $30 to appreciate some of the magic and mystery that you read about in the wine bible that sits on your coffee table.

Too many wine lovers read about the latest great harvest (2005, for example) and race to the wine shop to purchase these wines. Some spend enormous amounts of money buying the best of the best. They pop the corks and they are underwhelmed and disappointed.

Why?

The great vintages of Burgundy are not meant to be consumed upon release. They are meant to be coddled and cared for in the cellar for 10 years. Then, and only then, will they start to show their greatness.

"It is a tragedy to open a great bottle of Burgundy too soon, but what is worse is opening that great bottle and thinking that it is great at that time," explained our instructor, Jean-Pierre. "Burgundy takes patience. In this regard, you have to deserve it."

Ah. Where had we heard that before?

"When you drink young Grand Cru Burgundy, you drink only 25 percent of its potential pleasure," states Herve Tucki, of La Chablisienne in Chablis. "Chardonnay and winemaking are but small parts of terroir. A mature Grand Cru tastes of its terroir. When you drink it, you will forget the chardonnay grape altogether.

"In the 21st century, we are a society of 'I pay; I want'. Wine is not like Coca-Cola, which is the same everywhere," he continued. "Wine is a complex personality. It is a product that we live. In Chablis, the stone vibrates inside you. You absorb its minerality. You forget chardonnay. The grape exists simply to show the soil. In Chablis you taste the stone.

"Minerality is a family of sensations; same tree but different branches. The stones have resonance and there is not the same resonance between a Grand Cru and a premier cru vineyard site. We have here the same product with a different face. Like a tree, there is more distance between the leaves the higher up you go.

"In Burgundy," Herve explains, "the questions are more important than the answers. Once you have opened the book of Burgundy, it is almost impossible to close. The deeper you go with your knowledge, the more fragile it becomes, because in Burgundy there are always exceptions."

There is a French saying: Every day, you take your work to the loom. Wine is like that. The study of Burgundy embodies that.

"Wine develops the senses," Herve says. "In our modern world, one forgets the natural world. Wine is a way to keep in touch with where we come from."

I sat back in my chair and took stock.

I'd never met so many earnest individuals who preached their passion with such fervor. They weren't trying to convert me (although they did); they were desperately trying to make me understand something deep and complex and so very worthy of study.

I left with a diploma, but more than that I left with inspiration.

Many have likened the quest for a great bottle of Burgundy to that of the quest for the Holy Grail, but good Burgundy is not difficult to find. It just takes a little study and patience.

In fact, Burgundy is a study in patience, and before you embrace it you have to deserve it.

The L'Ecole de Vins de Bourgogne hosts classes for wine lovers in Beaune in Burgundy on a regular basis. The programs run the gamut from 90-minute seminars to 5-day discovery/educational travel experiences. Log on to www.burgundy-wines.fr to find out more.

Lisa Airey is a certified wine educator.

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