Feb. 28, 2014 1:23 p.m. ET  IT ONLY TAKES a wine or two to make a region famous. Take, for example, Burgundy. To many oenophiles, the entire region might as well be labeled "D.R.C." Those are the initials of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, arguably the most iconic if not the most expensive wine in this tiny corner of central France.  But there is much more to Burgundy than this famous domaine—in fact, there are far more basic Bourgognes (as Burgundies are called in French) than there are grand crus. And when a bottle of the 2010 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti can cost as much as $15,000 a bottle, a simple Bourgogne can seem pretty attractive—especially when it's as good as the 2010 Domaine Simon Bize et Fils Bourgogne Blanc Les Perrières that I recently tasted. Minerally and pure and with a bracing acidity, it was also a very good deal at $30.  In Burgundy, address is everything, and a basic Bourgogne is the South Bronx to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's Central Park West. The cheaper wines don't attract much attention or respect. Yet, from the minerally whites to savory reds, they can offer aspiring oenophiles not only good value but a true taste of Burgundy terroir.  At least that's my theory—but what did my fellow professionals think? I asked a few wine merchants and some Burgundy winemakers as well.  I called Geoffrey Troy, who is a Burgundy specialist and owns the New York Wine Warehouse, a store in Long Island City, N.Y. Mr. Troy has been buying the wines of Burgundy for nearly three decades, and he's tasted plenty of the area's great—and less than great—wines. "I think that wine drinkers can learn a lot from the basic Bourgognes," said Mr. Troy, adding that this was especially true of wines of small growers because those wines were often made in vineyards owned by the winemakers—unlike the Bourgognes made by négociants, who tend to buy grapes from all over the region.  The classification system of Burgundy is a hierarchy in which wines are designated according to appellation (unlike, say, in Bordeaux where it's the châteaux that are ranked). The less specific a Burgundy's origin, the less prestigious the wine—hence, one labeled simply "Bourgogne" could come from anywhere in the region, and is often made from purchased grapes. Such a wine could be said to have the least "sense of place," which is pretty much everything in Burgundy. There are four different classifications within the area: the basic Bourgognes; the village wines; and, at the top of the spectrum, the premier and grand crus, which are both single-vineyard wines.  And yet some basic Bourgogne wines come from very particular places—and they tend to be better than the ones that are made from widely sourced grapes. Take the Domaine Simon Bize et Fils wine that I loved. The Bourgogne Blanc Les Perrières is produced from a hillside vineyard planted by the Bize family almost 50 years ago.  Certain winemakers buy vineyards with the specific intention of producing a generic Bourgogne. Although Laurent Ponsot makes some of the world's most sought-after Burgundies at Domaine Ponsot in the village of Morey-Saint-Denis, in 2001 he actually bought a vineyard where he would produce a Bourgogne Rouge.  The democratically-minded Mr. Ponsot wanted to "give more people a possibility to drink a 'Ponsot' wine," he wrote in an email. While the 2010 Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche Cuvée Vieilles Vignes sells for $600, the 2010 Domaine Ponsot Bourgogne Cuvée du Pinson is only $36. As it is, such steals are only possible for a few, as almost all of his wines are very fancy grand crus.  A step up from basic Bourgogne in geographic specificity—and often in quality—are subregional wines from places like Bourgogne Hautes-Côte de Nuits and the Bourgogne Hautes-Côte de Beaune. These are both hillside subregions within the fabled Côte d'Or section of Burgundy. Méo-Camuzet is a famous domaine located in the village of Vosne-Romanée, which produces much sought-after grand crus, as well as a terrific, rich and textured Bourgogne Hauts Côte de Nuits blanc that costs $38 a bottle. This wine is produced from a specific vineyard named Clos Saint-Philibert and, according to proprietor Jean-Nicolas Méo, it's a true expression of his domaine and "very true to the vintage and very true to the site" from which it is made.  “ These bottles offer a true taste of Burgundy terroir, from its minerally whites to its savory reds. ”  Mr. Méo also makes excellent "village-level" Burgundies, as do many top-tier producers. These wines are produced from vineyards located within the appellation of a particular village in Burgundy such as Puligny-Montrachet or Vosne-Romanée, and are ranked just below the premier cru wines (which are a notch below grand cru). They are one further step up the quality ladder and offer oenophiles a yet more specific taste of a particular place than the subregional wines.  A village wine from a top producer in a great vintage isn't necessarily cheap. For example, the rich and densely textured 2012 Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée, a perfect example of the Méo style, will cost $125 when it's on the market later this year.  That's almost $100 more than what I spent on some of the 16 wines that I purchased for my tasting of red and white Burgundies for everyday drinking. I mainly bought Bourgogne-level wines, though I sampled a few village wines as well. Most of the wines were from small producers in the Côte d'Or, although a few came from other subregions, notably Chablis and the Côte Chalonnaise, the subregion located just south of the Côte d'Or.  They ranged in price from $20 to $40 a bottle, and my focus was on the lower end of that scale. Most were made by small growers, but there were a few good wines from négociants too. I concentrated on bottles from the excellent 2010 and 2012 vintage.  I found better values in the white wines than the reds. At least half a dozen whites were particularly notable, including 2010 Paul Pernot & Fils Bourgogne Chardonnay ($20), which had all the mineral quality of a good Puligny-Montrachet, and the dense, well-structured 2010 Méo-Camuzet Bourgogne Blanc. There were classic 2012 Chablis made by well-regarded producers like Patrick Piuze and Christian Moreau. Both their basic wines showed the crisp, flinty character of the region.  There were some disappointments, especially among the reds. The 2010 Domaine Ponsot Bourgogne Cuvée du Pinson Bourgogne and 2012 Frédéric Esmonin Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur were charming and lithe but others were one-dimensional. With pleasant aromas but little left to savor, they offered only the most fleeting impression of Burgundy.  And that's what any wine—whether grand cru Burgundy or a basic Bourgogne—must do: Make an impression. This is something that Becky Wasserman-Hone, a Burgundy-based exporter, knows very well. Ms. Wasserman-Hone exports of some of the best producers in Burgundy, including Domaine Simon Bize et Fils.  When I emailed her to ask her thoughts on basic Bourgogne and its place in the pantheon of Burgundy wines, she responded that she considered Bourgogne "the calling card" of a domaine, offering a look at the style of a producer—and a connective "thread" to its other, more illustrious wines. She even offered a literary analogy: "If I like a short story or article, I would certainly buy the book."  There are many stories in Burgundy worth savoring—both long and short.  See wine videos and more from Off Duty at youtube.com/wsj.com.
The French region of Burgundy, known for its minerally whites and savory reds that can fetch five-figure prices, also has a good supply of excellent deals, says Wall Street Journal wine columnist Lettie Teague.