With its undulating vineyards, green valleys, old villages and quiet hamlets, Beaujolais is one of the most beautiful regions of France. The tourist crowds, as you see in northern neighbour Burgundy, cannot be found here. Everything is still quiet and at lunchtime, when everyone is eating, there really isn't a dog on the streets. Except at harvest time, when there is an invasion of some 35,000 vendangeurs. They pick all grapes by hand, as this is mandatory in Beaujolais.
Beaujeu, the region's historic capital and namesake, is quite busy. It is thought that viticulture was already here at the time of the Roman occupation, some 2,000 years ago. It is not entirely clear whether the Romans planted the vineyards themselves or whether they were there before. The first written evidence of viticulture in the Beaujolais dates back to 956, when the first Lord of Beaujeu is named and this name is mentioned for the first time.
SMALL TOSCANE
The northern part of the Beaujolais, unlike the south, has more granite in the subsoil. The increasing amount of granite in the subsoil creates more diversity in the wines. Here, the wines are called Beaujolais Villages or the wines are given names of a dozen communes, which have been given Cru status.
The economic centre of the Beaujolais is Villefranche. This town lies in the southernmost part of the Beaujolais, where the AOC Beaujolais is made. Because the AOC Beaujolais has less prestige than the Cru, this southern area attracts fewer visitors. But in terms of landscape, it is many times more beautiful. If you follow the winding route of the dry stones, the golden stones that were used for many buildings, gets a new breathtaking picture after every turn. This is certainly true of the village of Oingt, known as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Not called Little Tuscany for nothing, the southern Beaujolais is well worth a visit.
GAMAY
Beaujolais is the kingdom of gamay, completeness gamay noir à jus blanc. Only this grape is used for red wines. They also make a little white wine from chardonnay, called Beaujolais Blanc. But almost 99 per cent of the wines are red and so the Beaujolais region is completely dominated by the planting of gamay. The fact that this grape thrives here in particular has mainly to do with the subsoil. Almost everywhere in the Beaujolais, the soil consists of from granite and/or lime.
Gamay is a difficult grape to grow, as it produces few shoots and leaves, and is quite susceptible to diseases. To make quality wines from gamay, yields must be kept low. In Beaujolais, they do this by putting the vines very close together, creating more competition between them. In addition, the vines are pruned regularly. Of course, the poor granite/lime soil also has a big influence on yields.
Further reading? You will find more information in WINELIFE Magazine, issue 86. You can order this one here.
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