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Beaujolais
Beaujolais (/ˌboʊʒəˈleɪ/ boh-zhə-LAY, French: [boʒɔlɛ] ⓘ) is a French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) wine in the Burgundy region. Red Beaujolais wines are generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannin, but like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites, 1% of production, are made mostly with Chardonnay, though Aligoté was also permitted until 2024. Beaujolais tends to be a very light-bodied red wine, with relatively high acidity. In some vintages, Beaujolais produces more wine than the Burgundy wine regions of Chablis, Côte d'Or, Côte Chalonnaise, and Mâconnais put together.
The wine takes its name from the historical Province of Beaujolais. It is located north of Lyon, in the departments of Rhône and Saône-et-Loire. While administratively part of the Burgundy wine region, the climate is closer to that of the Rhône, and the wine is sufficiently individual in character to be considered apart from Burgundy and Rhône. The region is known internationally for its long tradition of winemaking, for the use of carbonic maceration, and more recently for the popular Beaujolais nouveau.
The region of Beaujolais was first cultivated by the Romans who planted the areas along its trading route up the Saône valley. The most noticeable Roman vineyard was Brulliacus located on the hillside of Mont Brouilly. The Romans also planted vineyards in the area around Morgon. From the 7th century through the Middle Ages, most of the viticulture and winemaking was done by the Benedictine monks. In the 10th century, the region got its name from the town of Beaujeu and was ruled by the Lords of Beaujeu until the 15th century when it was ceded to the Duchy of Burgundy. The wines from Beaujolais were mostly confined to the markets along the Saône and Rhône, particularly in the city of Lyon. The expansion of the French railroad system in the 19th century opened up the lucrative Paris market. The first mention of Beaujolais wines in English followed soon after when Cyrus Redding described the wines of Moulin-à-Vent and Saint-Amour as being low-priced and best consumed young.
In the 1980s, Beaujolais hit a peak of popularity in the world's wine market with its Beaujolais nouveau wine. Spurred on by the creative marketing from wine merchants such as Georges Duboeuf, demand outpaced supply for the easy-drinking, fruity wines. As more Beaujolais producers tried to capitalize on the "Nouveau craze", production of regular Beaujolais dropped and an eventual backlash occurred in the late 1990s and early 21st century. By this point, the whole of Beaujolais wine had developed a negative reputation among consumers who associated Gamay based wines with the slightly sweet, simple light bodied wines that characterized Beaujolais Nouveau. Producers were left with a wine surplus that French authorities compelled them to reduce through mandatory distillation. In response, there has been renewed emphasis on the production of more complex wines that are aged longer in oak barrels prior to release. Recent years have seen a rise in the number of terroir driven estate-bottled wines made from single vineyards or in one of the Cru Beaujolais communes, where the name of the commune is allowed to be displayed on the label.
Gamay noir is a cross of pinot noir and the ancient white variety Gouais, a Central European variety that was probably introduced to northeastern France by the Romans. The grape brought relief to the village growers following the decline of the Black Death. Gamay ripened two weeks earlier than Pinot Noir and was easier to grow. It also produced a strong, fruitier wine in a much larger abundance. In July 1395, the Duke of Burgundy, Philippe the Bold, outlawed the cultivation of Gamay as being "a very bad and disloyal plant", due in part to the variety occupying land that could be used for the more "elegant" pinot noir. Sixty years later, Philippe the Good issued another edict against Gamay, in which he stated that the reason for the ban was because "[t]he Dukes of Burgundy are known as the lords of the best wines in Christendom. We will maintain our reputation". The edicts had the effect of pushing Gamay plantings southward, out of the main region of Burgundy and into the granite-based soils of Beaujolais, where the grape thrived.
Following the 2001 vintage, over 1.1 million cases of Beaujolais wine (most of it Beaujolais Nouveau) had to be destroyed or distilled due to lackluster sales as part of a consumer backlash against the popularity of Beaujolais Nouveau. In an interview given to local newspaper Lyon Mag, French wine critic François Mauss claimed that the reason for the backlash was the poor quality of Beaujolais Nouveau that had flooded the market in recent decades. He claimed that Beaujolais producers had long ignored the warning signs that such a backlash was coming and continued to produce what Mauss termed "vin de merde" ("shit wine"). This triggered an outcry among Beaujolais producers, followed by an association of 56 cooperative producers filing a lawsuit against Lyon Mag for publishing Mauss's comments.
Rather than sue for libel, the producers sued under an obscure French law that punishes the denigration of French products. In January 2003, the court in Villefranche-sur-Saône found in favor of the Beaujolais producers and awarded USD$350,000, which would have put the small employee-owned publication out of business. The bad publicity garnered from the "shit wine case" was extensive, with several publications such as Le Monde, The Times, The New York Times and the Herald Tribune running critical or satirical articles in response to the court's decision. In 2005, the highest court of appeal reversed the decision and found that there was no cause for action against the publication; the Beaujolais winemakers were ordered to pay €2,000 (US$2,442) in court costs to Lyon Mag.
In 2005, the Vins Georges Duboeuf company was charged with mixing low-grade wine with better vintages after a patchy 2004 harvest. Georges Duboeuf denied wrongdoing, blaming human error and pointing out that none of the affected wine was released to consumers. The production manager directly responsible admitted his actions and resigned, and a court found that both "fraud and attempted fraud concerning the origin and quality of wines" had been committed. Fewer than 200,000 liters of the company's annual 270 million liter production were implicated, but L'Affaire Duboeuf, as it was called, was considered a serious scandal.
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Beaujolais
Beaujolais (/ˌboʊʒəˈleɪ/ boh-zhə-LAY, French: [boʒɔlɛ] ⓘ) is a French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) wine in the Burgundy region. Red Beaujolais wines are generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannin, but like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites, 1% of production, are made mostly with Chardonnay, though Aligoté was also permitted until 2024. Beaujolais tends to be a very light-bodied red wine, with relatively high acidity. In some vintages, Beaujolais produces more wine than the Burgundy wine regions of Chablis, Côte d'Or, Côte Chalonnaise, and Mâconnais put together.
The wine takes its name from the historical Province of Beaujolais. It is located north of Lyon, in the departments of Rhône and Saône-et-Loire. While administratively part of the Burgundy wine region, the climate is closer to that of the Rhône, and the wine is sufficiently individual in character to be considered apart from Burgundy and Rhône. The region is known internationally for its long tradition of winemaking, for the use of carbonic maceration, and more recently for the popular Beaujolais nouveau.
The region of Beaujolais was first cultivated by the Romans who planted the areas along its trading route up the Saône valley. The most noticeable Roman vineyard was Brulliacus located on the hillside of Mont Brouilly. The Romans also planted vineyards in the area around Morgon. From the 7th century through the Middle Ages, most of the viticulture and winemaking was done by the Benedictine monks. In the 10th century, the region got its name from the town of Beaujeu and was ruled by the Lords of Beaujeu until the 15th century when it was ceded to the Duchy of Burgundy. The wines from Beaujolais were mostly confined to the markets along the Saône and Rhône, particularly in the city of Lyon. The expansion of the French railroad system in the 19th century opened up the lucrative Paris market. The first mention of Beaujolais wines in English followed soon after when Cyrus Redding described the wines of Moulin-à-Vent and Saint-Amour as being low-priced and best consumed young.
In the 1980s, Beaujolais hit a peak of popularity in the world's wine market with its Beaujolais nouveau wine. Spurred on by the creative marketing from wine merchants such as Georges Duboeuf, demand outpaced supply for the easy-drinking, fruity wines. As more Beaujolais producers tried to capitalize on the "Nouveau craze", production of regular Beaujolais dropped and an eventual backlash occurred in the late 1990s and early 21st century. By this point, the whole of Beaujolais wine had developed a negative reputation among consumers who associated Gamay based wines with the slightly sweet, simple light bodied wines that characterized Beaujolais Nouveau. Producers were left with a wine surplus that French authorities compelled them to reduce through mandatory distillation. In response, there has been renewed emphasis on the production of more complex wines that are aged longer in oak barrels prior to release. Recent years have seen a rise in the number of terroir driven estate-bottled wines made from single vineyards or in one of the Cru Beaujolais communes, where the name of the commune is allowed to be displayed on the label.
Gamay noir is a cross of pinot noir and the ancient white variety Gouais, a Central European variety that was probably introduced to northeastern France by the Romans. The grape brought relief to the village growers following the decline of the Black Death. Gamay ripened two weeks earlier than Pinot Noir and was easier to grow. It also produced a strong, fruitier wine in a much larger abundance. In July 1395, the Duke of Burgundy, Philippe the Bold, outlawed the cultivation of Gamay as being "a very bad and disloyal plant", due in part to the variety occupying land that could be used for the more "elegant" pinot noir. Sixty years later, Philippe the Good issued another edict against Gamay, in which he stated that the reason for the ban was because "[t]he Dukes of Burgundy are known as the lords of the best wines in Christendom. We will maintain our reputation". The edicts had the effect of pushing Gamay plantings southward, out of the main region of Burgundy and into the granite-based soils of Beaujolais, where the grape thrived.
Following the 2001 vintage, over 1.1 million cases of Beaujolais wine (most of it Beaujolais Nouveau) had to be destroyed or distilled due to lackluster sales as part of a consumer backlash against the popularity of Beaujolais Nouveau. In an interview given to local newspaper Lyon Mag, French wine critic François Mauss claimed that the reason for the backlash was the poor quality of Beaujolais Nouveau that had flooded the market in recent decades. He claimed that Beaujolais producers had long ignored the warning signs that such a backlash was coming and continued to produce what Mauss termed "vin de merde" ("shit wine"). This triggered an outcry among Beaujolais producers, followed by an association of 56 cooperative producers filing a lawsuit against Lyon Mag for publishing Mauss's comments.
Rather than sue for libel, the producers sued under an obscure French law that punishes the denigration of French products. In January 2003, the court in Villefranche-sur-Saône found in favor of the Beaujolais producers and awarded USD$350,000, which would have put the small employee-owned publication out of business. The bad publicity garnered from the "shit wine case" was extensive, with several publications such as Le Monde, The Times, The New York Times and the Herald Tribune running critical or satirical articles in response to the court's decision. In 2005, the highest court of appeal reversed the decision and found that there was no cause for action against the publication; the Beaujolais winemakers were ordered to pay €2,000 (US$2,442) in court costs to Lyon Mag.
In 2005, the Vins Georges Duboeuf company was charged with mixing low-grade wine with better vintages after a patchy 2004 harvest. Georges Duboeuf denied wrongdoing, blaming human error and pointing out that none of the affected wine was released to consumers. The production manager directly responsible admitted his actions and resigned, and a court found that both "fraud and attempted fraud concerning the origin and quality of wines" had been committed. Fewer than 200,000 liters of the company's annual 270 million liter production were implicated, but L'Affaire Duboeuf, as it was called, was considered a serious scandal.
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