Gamay: Beaujolais’ Signature Red Grape — Complete Variety Guide

Gamay is an ancient red grape variety from Burgundy that found its true home in Beaujolais.

I. Genetic Origins

• First mentioned in 1395 under the name “Gaamez,” Gamay is a medieval French grape variety.
• DNA analysis reveals that it comes from a natural cross between Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc, just like Chardonnay and Aligoté.

II. The Story of Its Banishment

• At the end of the 14th century, Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy, a fervent Pinot Noir lover, deemed Gamay too light and ordered it uprooted from all of Burgundy.
• Gamay was relegated to the granite-rich, poor soils of Beaujolais, south of Burgundy — an exile that turned out to be providential: on these terroirs, Gamay produced wines of incomparable freshness and vibrancy.
• A legend tells that during the Black Death epidemics, Gamay continued to produce grapes, offering local populations a life-saving drink.

III. Beaujolais, Land of Excellence

• Gamay is almost exclusively associated with Beaujolais, where it covers 98% of the vineyard.
• Beaujolais Nouveau, made by carbonic maceration and released on the third Thursday of November, has become a worldwide phenomenon celebrating the arrival of the new vintage.
• The ten Crus of Beaujolais (Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Brouilly, etc.) demonstrate that Gamay can produce complex, structured, long-aging wines with great minerality.
• Outside France, Gamay is also grown in Switzerland, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand.