Beaujolais Wine: A Foodie’s Dream

When it comes to food friendly-wine, look no further than Beaujolais. Beaujolais is made from the Gamay grape, a variety that produces wines low in tannins, with bright acidity, and fruity and floral aromas. Beaujolais comes in a range of different styles that can influence a food pairing.

In France, there are three categories of Beaujolais:

Beaujolais – This is the region’s largest appellation, covering 24 square miles and over 72 villages. The soil is made up of sandstone, limestone and volcanic rock.  The vines grow on flatter land. This results in wines that are lighter and less concentrated. 50% of the production is made into Beaujolais Nouveau. Beaujolais Nouveau is a young wine released 6-8 weeks after harvesting. It is fermented using carbonic maceration resulting in wines that are fruitier with little detectable tannin and low acidity. They are meant to be consumed within six months of their release.  Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Thursday of November and is often part of the Thanksgiving table pairing nicely with the turkey and cranberry sauce. It is a simple wine, meant to drink not sip, creating a perfect match for bbq chicken wings, chips, and dip.

Beaujolais-Villages – This is the region’s second largest appellation, covering 18 square miles and 38 villages. The soils are granite and sandy. The vines grow on hillier slopes. Beaujolais-Villages wines are a better quality than the basic Beaujolais wines.  They tend to be smoother, more balanced, and display more structured minerality. The wines are popular in French bistros serving burgers, roast chicken, pork, charcuterie and the like.

Beaujolais Crus – The remaining 25% of Beaujolais production is Beaujolais Cru. There are ten distinguished Crus (villages).  Brouilly, Chénas, Chiroubles, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliana’s, Morgon, Moulin-À-Vent, Réginié, and Saint-Amour. The Cru name will appear on the bottle often with the producer name, but not “Beaujolais.”  The vines grow on steep granite hills. The Crus can vary depending on the soil composition from a lighter bodied and floral Saint-Amour or Fleurie to a fuller bodied and more concentrated Moulin à Vent or Morgon. Beaujolais Crus are generally made in the traditional winemaking method similar to a Pinot Noir. Pairings are driven by the weight of the wine, lighter bodied wines pair well with poultry or even a meaty fish like tuna.  The fuller bodied wines match well with beef or hearty stews.

This month the French #Winophiles are taking a closer look at wines from Beaujolais. Join our conversation on Twitter Saturday, November 18 at 11 ET. And check out my fellow #winophile’s blog posts below.
Disclosure: The wines were provided as samples; all opinions are my own.

Tasting Notes:

2016 Beaujolais-Villages Natural, Terra Vitis
12% ABV $12 SRP
Light ruby in color with a crimson hue. Notes of raspberry on the nose. On the palate, bright acidity, light bodied with notes of violet and raspberry.

2015 Domaine Baron de L’ Écluse, Les Garances, Côte de Brouilly
13% ABV $29 SRP
Ruby in color with a crimson hue. An earthy nose with black cherry. Light to medium bodied with nice acidity, medium tannins, and flavors of black cherry.

2015 Domaine de Briante, Brouilly
13.5% ABV $15 SRP
Ruby in color with a hint of purple. Earthy nose. On the palate, medium body, nice bright acidity, notes of cherry, plum and spice.

2015 Morgon, Côte du Py, Dominique Piron
13.5% ABV $25 SRP
Ruby in color with a purple hue. Dark red fruit on the nose. Medium bodied with balanced acidity. Notes of tart cherry, raspberry, kirsch, and a smooth, silky lingering finish.

Food Pairings:

Beaujolais wine is a foodie’s dream.  Low tannins, bright acidity, and little oak, make for a wine that pairs with most foods.  Because of the range of style from light bodied and fruity to fuller bodied and more complex the food pairing choices are vast.

I started with a cheese board.  All three cheeses worked well with all the Beaujolais wines bringing out the fruity characteristics in the wine.

Simple Roasted Chicken

My dinner was a bistro-style meal that matched the wines perfectly.  A simple roasted chicken,  a classic with Beaujolais. The Red Cabbage Blackberry Caraway Slaw played to the textures and fruit in the wines. The Roasted Stuffed Acorn Squash brought out the earthy notes in the wines. It is no wonder that Beaujolais finds its way to the Thanksgiving table with all the Fall flavors. My Thanksgiving will definitely include the red cabbage blackberry caraway slaw with bottles of Beaujolais!

A Roundup of the French #Winophile’s posts on Beaujolais

• Jill from L’Occasion shares “No Sleep ’til Beaujolais: The French Wine That’s Keeping Us Up All Night“ 
• Martin from Enofylz writes “Ready To Elevate Your Beaujolais Game? Go Beyond Nouveau!”
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest writes “Beaujolais Beyond Nouveau”
• Rob from Odd Bacchus shares “Beaujolais Reassessed“ 
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm writes “Say Yay for Beaujolais“ 
• Jane from Always Ravenous shares “Beaujolais Wine: A Foodie’s Dream”
• Nicole from Somms Table writes “Cooking to the Wine: Stephane Aviron Cru Beaujolais with Pork Tenderloin While Jumping Life Hurdles“
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish shares “Thanksgiving for Two: Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Loin Paired with Beaujolais Cru” 
• Jeff from Food Wine Click! shares “Tasting the Beaujolais Pyramid over Dinner”
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator asks “Do you know the way to Beaujolais?”  Followed up by “We do! Part 2 with Coq a Vin!”
• Liz from What’s in that Bottle invites us to “Discover Real Beaujolais”
• Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla tells us about her “Top of the Central Coast; My Beaujolais Pairing Dinner”
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog writes “Exploring Cru Beaujolais with #Winophiles“.
• David from Cooking Chat shares “Food-Friendly Red Wine from Beaujolais“.