Gamay

Delightfully playful, yet at its best capable of impressive gravitas, Gamay is responsible for juicy, berry-packed wines from Beaujolais and parts of the Loire. The variety is also widely planted in Savoie, Valle d'Aosta and Switzerland. Gamay has recently found success on a small but growing scale in Oregon.

Tasting Notes for Gamay

Gamay makes a dry, red wine that is light in body. In its simplest form as Beaujolais Nouveau, a wine released just a couple of months after harvest, Gamay is fresh and full of cranberry and cherry candy flavors. The Villages and Crus Beaujolais wines, given more time on the vine and in the winery, are capable of improving with age and offer blackberry or ripe cherry flavors with enticing aromas of baking spice, violets and wet earth.

Perfect Food Pairings for Gamay

Gamay is delicious on its own; the simpler bottling can even benefit from a light chill before serving. It is the quintessential picnic red and goes well with simple charcuterie, Asian food, roasted duck or Thanksgiving turkey with cranberry sauce.

Sommelier Secrets for Gamay

Within Beaujolais, there are ten different Crus, or highly ranked grape-growing communes. Each one has its own distinct personality—Fleurie is delicate and floral, Côte de Brouilly is concentrated and elegant and Morgon is serious, structured, and age-worthy, capable of rivaling some red Burgundies.