The ADVANCED SEARCH, directly below the QUICK SEARCH, is what most subscribers will use, and have historically used, to refine search results.
Using the Producer field
As soon as you start typing in the Producer field, a dropdown list will appear. As a rule you will NOT select from the dropdown list, but use it as a spelling and producer guide. We added this feature at the request of subscribers who asked for spelling assistance.
Never enter the words “Maison”, “Producer” or “Château” when typing in the Producer Field. Don’t select those words, either, when they’re offered in the dropdown list. Here’s why: If I am looking for Leroy wines, as soon as I type “Leroy” I see Maison Leroy and Domaine Leroy listed. If I choose the Domaine option, I won’t get to see the Maison Leroy wines, and vice versa. In this case, it is best simply to type “Leroy” and hit ENTER on your keyboard.
French domaine names can be confusing. so the dropdown feature can assist. In the image (right), But when I start to spell out “ramonet” in the Producer field, as soon as type “ramone” — before I even finish typing — options start to appear below, so I can select the one I’m looking for. Remember that domaine names have changed over the years and there are multiple family options! As Allen always says, the only rule in Burgundy is that there are no rules! So if you chose Domaine Ramonet from the dropdown list, you would miss all wines after 2014 when the name was changed to Domaine Jean-Claude Ramonet. It’s best, therefore to use this only as a guide to spelling. Don’t necessarily pick a producer from the list – unless you are 100% sure of what you are looking for. In this circumstance, I would type “ramonet” and hit enter, and then fine-tune my results from there.
TO GET TO THE NEXT FIELD (Wine name contains), just use the tab button on your keyboard – or move your cursor to the field directly below your entered PRODUCER. (It’s hard to see when you have a dropdown list open. See red arrow on image.)
Using the Wine name contains options
1) The Wine name field defaults to Wine name contains which is the best option to search with. So as soon as you start typing “amour”, you can hit enter and you will get all the results in the Database for Amoureuses. You can fine tune your search from there.
You may select any of the options to override the default of Wine name contains.
2) As an example, you may choose to select WINE NAME BEGINS WITH when looking for a straight Musigny. If you use the default of “Wine name contains” you will get all of the various Chambolle-Musigny wines as well as Musigny. But if you use WINE NAME BEGINS WITH and then enter Musigny, you will just see all Musigny wines reviewed.
3) Another example of when you will change to Wine name begins with is if you want to find the grand cru Montrachet. If I keep WINE NAME CONTAINS, I will get results with Chevalier, Demoiselles, Bâtard, Criots, etc. By selecting WINE NAME BEGINS WITH I will just get Montrachet. Again, you would NOT use Exact wine name is because your search would exclude “Montrachet – Marquis de Laguiche” or “Montrachet Cuvée des Orchidées,” or any other designations.
4) It is extremely rare (if ever) that you would choose WINE NAME ENDS WITH or EXACT WINE NAME IS. For our Musigny example, if you used EXACT WINE NAME IS you would eliminate all “Musigny Vieilles Vignes” or any other designations.
Using the All Vintages options
The Database is set to default to All Vintages, unless you use the pulldown list to make a selection. You will see there are options of vintage ranges, as well as individual vintages back to 1845.
Using the Order by options
At the request of subscribers, ORDER BY defaults to SCORE. You may choose to sort your results by WINE NAME, GC/1ER/VILLAGES (for Burgundy and Champagne), DATE TASTED, VINTAGE OLDEST TO RECENT, VINTAGE RECENT TO OLDEST, OR PRODUCER.
Refine your search with filters and defaults:
1) On the right side of the desktop version, are additional filters to refine your search.
2) Defaults are set to the widest search criteria, for COLOR, REGION, ISSUES/NOTES, BARREL AND BOTTLE, LEVELS (the latter for Burgundy and Champagne only). You may change the set defaults, i.e. from Barrel AND Bottle to just Bottle, or red for color vs. the default of red/white/rosé, etc.
3) You may also choose TOP VALUE, DON’T MISS, SWEET SPOT or DRINK NOW options. Note the date of each review – if Allen said “drink now” in 2017, it is good to note. You may also choose to enter a Minimum Score.
4) Collectors interested in older wines not reviewed in the Issues of Burghound, can scroll to the bottom of ALL ISSUES/NOTES and select PERSONAL NOTES. Also under SORT BY, select DATE TASTED. As of May 2021 there were ~11,400 personal notes. You will notice there are no issue numbers listed for wines Allen has reviewed outside of Burghound Issues.
Important notes and helpful hints
1) FOR PRODUCER OR WINE NAMES, YOU NEVER HAVE TO INPUT ACCENTS or characters such as ô, â, ç, etc.
2) For wine names, do NOT enter “les” or “aux” since these change for each producer.
3) LESS IS MORE so do not enter “Domaine” or “Maison” or “Château” when entering a producer name, or from the dropdown lists – it will be too restrictive and limit your results.
4) And remember, this is Burgundy! As an example of how confusing things can be, let’s look up a Gros wine…as soon as I input “gros” in the producer field, (under ADVANCED SEARCH) you can see the numerous options which can be extremely confusing with so many family/producer options! But at least the dropdown feature will get you CLOSER to what you are looking for and you can then narrow your search from a wide variety of options.