Gamay

Gamay is a crossing of pinot noir and gouais blanc, which makes it a sibling of chardonnay. In 1395 Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, ordered it pulled out of the Côte d'Or, calling it a very bad and disloyal plant, largely because it out-yielded pinot noir on the good sites. It moved south to the granite of Beaujolais and has stayed there.

It is light in colour and tannin, high in acidity, and full of red cherry and raspberry. Much of Beaujolais is made by carbonic maceration, where whole uncrushed bunches ferment inside their own skins in a carbon-dioxide atmosphere before being pressed. That process suppresses tannin extraction and creates its own aromas: banana, bubblegum and kirsch. It is a technique, not a property of the grape, and the best producers use it partially or not at all.

The ten Beaujolais crus, Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent, Brouilly and the rest, grow gamay on granite and schist and make serious, structured wine that ages ten years and more. Beaujolais Nouveau, released seven weeks after harvest, is a different product entirely and did lasting damage to the region's reputation. Gamay is also grown in the Loire and increasingly in Oregon and Canada.