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Celebrating Gamay on Beaujolais Nouveau Day
Itβs the third Thursday in November and that means itβs the wine worldβs favorite holiday: Beaujolais Nouveau Day. Among the most unique modern harvest traditions, Beaujolais Nouveau Day gives the earliest sips of the new vintage in the Northern Hemisphereβa delightful taste of infant wine for the inpatient.
Always one week before Thanksgiving, Beaujolais Nouveau Day kickstarts the holiday season. To celebrate, letβs dive into the history of Beaujolais Nouveau and the grape and region behind the wine.
All About Gamay
Gamay is a very old variety, native to Burgundy and the offspring of fellow Burgundian red Pinot Noir and the ancient grape Gouais Blanc. While Gamay is the darling of many sommeliers the world over today, it was not always quite so beloved. Its first documented mention was in 1395 via a decree by Philippe the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in which he prohibited the planting of Gamay in Burgundyβs vineyards and demanded all existing vines be immediately torn out. The βdisloyalβ Gamay was derided not only for negative gustatory properties, but also a series of wild and ridiculous correlations of Gamay consumption with the contraction of a suite of diseases.
Gamay on the vine
Fortunately, Philippe the Bold failed to fully enforce his decree, and plantings of Gamay have persisted across the centuries. Today, it is one of Franceβs most cherished and classic red grape varieties, and it is almost entirely synonymous with the region of Beaujolais. The southernmost region of Burgundy, Beaujolais is unlike other Burgundian appellations in that it is planted almost completely to Gamay instead of the typical Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Beaujolaisβs greatest wines are its ten crusβsmaller appellations with distinctive identities, such as the floral Fleurie and the powerful Moulin-Γ -Vent. These wines are complex, ageworthy, and increasingly sought after, though still present exceptional value among fine French wines.
The Origins of Nouveau
Beyond traditional Beaujolais, the region is famous worldwide for one of wineβs most idiosyncratic styles, Beaujolais Nouveau. Often the very first taste people will enjoy of a given vintage, Beaujolais Nouveau is fermented rapidly and released within a few short weeks of harvest. In The Wine Bible, author Karen MacNeil describes, βDrinking [Beaujolais Nouveau] gives you the same kind of silly glee as eating cookie dough.β The fun is in the wineβs half-baked character.
Beaujolais Nouveau originates in the 19th century, when barrels of Beaujolais were shipped down the SaΓ΄ne River to Lyon before they had completed fermentation. This style was perfected and expanded after World War II, and in the 1950s it grew in popularity at Parisian Bistros. Initially, the release date was set in 1951 as December 15, allowing the wines a bit more time to mature than they are given today. Then, the wines were referred to as primeur or βearlyβ wines, but in the 1960s the phrase Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé (βThe new Beaujolais has arrivedβ) took hold, lending itself to the contemporary name, Beaujolais Nouveau.
Beaujolais Nouveau Day in Paris
By the 1970s, one winery, Georges Duboeuf, heavily marketed their Beaujolais Nouveau, transforming the category into a global phenomenon. The first Beaujolais Nouveau wines reached the United Kingdom in 1974, and in the ensuing decades, bottles flew as far as Asia and Australia. The release date was also moved up, first to November 15, and then to the third Thursday in November, beginning in 1985. By 1988 Nouveau comprised 60% of all Beaujolais production, the peak of the productβs popularity.
The speedy fermentation of Beaujolais Nouveau relies on a unique winemaking process called carbonic maceration. Unlike traditional fermentation, carbonic maceration is performed before crushing the grapes. Whole berries, typically still attached to their stems, are placed in a sealed tank, flushed with carbon dioxide. In this anaerobic environment, fermentation is carried out intracellularly and without the assistance of yeasts. The result is a light and extremely fruity wine, with youthful, candied flavors, sometimes described as tasting of bubblegum.
Pouring Beaujolais Nouveau
Nouveau and Gamay Around the World
Beaujolais Nouveau Day remains the wine worldβs most celebrated holiday, and it has also inspired similar styles in other regions. In France, Gamay wines from ArdΓ¨che and the Loire are also released in Nouveau expressions, while various novello wines in Italy are released on the same day as Beaujolais Nouveau. The tradition has also crossed over to the New World, with several trendy young California wineries bottlings Nouveau wines from Gamay or Pinot Noir.
But Nouveau isnβt the only source of inspiration that Beaujolais has provided to the New World. Many other winemakers have taken greater interest in traditionally fermented Beaujolais, mesmerized by the transcendent beauty of Gamay and its profound ability to communicate its sense of place. Winemakers of Pinot Noir commonly also share great admiration for Gamay, and several wineries in Australia, Oregon, New York, and California will produce both.
Gamay also performs well in cooler climatesβeven those cooler than the more moderate Beaujolais. Accordingly, it has become one of the signature grape varieties of Ontarioβs Niagara Peninsula, a region that leans into its cool climate to craft wines of crystalline purity. Gamay from the region is often precise, finely chiseled, and almost ethereal in character.
Vineyards in the Niagara Peninsula
