Le Beaujolais Nouveau?

Question

I'm interesting in more information about the history (not about the folklore) of the Beaujolais wine. I found something only in http://www.carnifest.com/carnivals/The-new-Beaujolais-has-arrived.asp
Someone can refer me to another site for info of the history and the grape mix of this wine?

japo

Answer 1

The grape used for red* Beaujolais is Gamay, a grape grown mostly only in Beaujolais.

You mention Beaujolais Nouveau, Although a lot of the Beaujolais wine is made and sold as Nouveau, and it was a great marketing coup and good for winemakers cash-flow no-one would pretend that these wines picked made and released in a few weeks are anything other than a novelty.

If you want to drink Beaujolais, then you should look for one from the villages, identified by the village (or cru) name*. Although the grape is the same and the area is realtively small, wines from different villages exhibit their own characteristics.

Although Beaujolais is next to Burgundy and is often considered part of Burgundy, Gamay was banned from Burgundy in 1395 by Duke Philip The Bold.

But the history of wine growing in the area goes back to the Cistercian monks in the 7th Century and further back before them to Roman times


**The 10 Villages (Crus)

Brouilly
Chénas
Chiroubles
Côte de brouilly
Fleurie
Juliénas
Morgon
Moulin à Vent
Régnié
Saint amour

*Some white Beaujolais is made from Chardonnay

Answer 2

try TheWineBlog.net(fr)
www.beaujolais.com(the official site)