Wine · Light & sessionable
Beaujolais
Gamay served slightly chilled — the red wine that parties like a white.
How to order it: Cru Beaujolais (Morgon, Fleurie) over Nouveau. Picnic-certified.
Flavor profile
The proper serve
- Chill to 55°F — lightly cool
- Any red glass
- No decanting needed
- Pairs: picnics, charcuterie, roast bird
- Cru villages (Morgon, Fleurie) over Nouveau
The story
Gamay's origin story is an expulsion: in 1395, Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy banned the 'disloyal' grape from his lands, reserving the good slopes for Pinot Noir. Gamay retreated south to the granite hills of Beaujolais and proceeded to outlive the insult. The twentieth century brought fame of a mixed kind — the Beaujolais Nouveau craze, marketed with genius by Georges Duboeuf, made the third Thursday of November a global event and the wine a synonym for cheerful banana-scented haste. The rehabilitation runs through the ten crus — Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent and company — where serious growers make structured, chillable reds that sommeliers now hoard. The duke's loss compounds annually.
Adjacent pours