The winter season in Burgundy can be a brutal stretch of time for locals. Tourists have migrated away, days are short and gray, and the vineyards —once a patchwork of color-blocked parcels—look deserted and bare. But come February the Côte is back to business as usual. Vignerons who have been busy in their cellars since harvest ascend one by one, equipped with warm gloves and a pair of pruning shears, to perform la taille. Last year’s branches are trimmed, clipped, and then gathered into neat piles and used as kindling in wheelbarrow-like furnaces parked downslope. The burning bundles, like snuffed candles, release billows of scented smoke into the icy air. The sight and smell of roasting rootstock all the way from Chassagne to Chablis is a unique delight. It’s with this distinct memory of Burgundy in February that we’ve chosen two exciting interpretations of its terroir by producers Valentin Montanet and Bruno Colin. While tasting these wines, remember that a regional appellation under the care of a skilled artisan has an infinitely more authentic expression than a fancy grand cru at the mercy of a clumsy one.