Beaujolais
Beaujolais is a very well known wine region in east-central France. The town of Beaujeu is the regional hub, but most of the wine producing region is east of town. Beaujolais is known for its nouveau-style red wines. They tend to be light, fresh, fruity and ready to drink almost as soon as they have finished fermenting, without significant barrel age. There are many brawnier, age-able varieties of Beaujolais in addition to the nouveau style that offer an alternative to Burgundy at an incredible value.
Beaujolais
Beaujolias is an important wine region in eastern France just south of Burgundy and north of the city of Lyon. While often considered to be a part of Burgundy, it technically lies in the department of the Rhone and in viticultural terms is probably best considered on its own anyway.
The region is almost entirely focused on a single grape, Gamay, which has become synonymous with Beaujolais. Small quantities of Chardonnay and Aligote are also planted and used for Beaujolais Blanc in addition to being permitted to account for up to 15% of the blend of red Beaujolais.
Beaujolais has a hierarchy of production that begins with basic Beaujolais, moves to Beaujolais-Villages from more highly regarded sub-regions and also, somewhat distinctly, Beaujolais Nouveau, which is released as a festive mark of the new harvest every year on the third Thursday in November.
Beside the nouveau versions, Beaujolais offers “Cru,” or higher quality selections from the best vineyard sites. There are currently ten crus, with flowery and romantic names such as Brouilly, Fleurie, Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent, and St.-Amour. These better sites are in the north of the region, where the Gamay grape benefits from the granite in the soil. The cru versions are much more interesting and flavorful than the candied nouveau versions. Cru Beaujolais is actually an excellent way to begin exploring the red wines of Burgundy. At around $15-20 a bottle, and available year-round, the best of these wines are deeply fruited, exotically spiced, sultry, silky, and smooth.