That’s it ! I’m going to be a member of the jury at the first International Gamay Competition episod this Saturday in Lyon. It is an event organized by InterBeaujolais to spread the word on the Gamay Grape: King in Beaujolais.

it is, of course, in Beaujolais‘ limestone-clay and granitic soils that this plant has found its true home.

Vendanges at home (château des Moriers) > In the back is Moulin-à-vent - King of Beaujolais - King of Gamay

It’s incredibly exciting to discover new wines!… And as I’ve promised you a Beaujolais article a month and I’m not quite sure I’ve done it – this competition arrives just in time!

Gamay facts :

• There is only 37 000 hectares of Gamay in the world
• 23 000 hectares are in the beautiful Beaujolais.
• Gamay is fruity, delicate with light tannins and can reach an interesting complexity
• Not known to make wines able to age, some keep very well – it depends on the terroir and the way it has been made. In beaujolais : Morgon and Moulin à Vent are the better known for this.
• There are different kind of Gamay, the one in Beaujolais is Gamay noir à jus blanc (Dark skin, white juice) but you find some with a darker juice.

Gamay is very easy to pair with food, it give wines that are usually light but depending on the terroir, you find differences in fruitiness, complexity texture and color. Gamay itself is rich in diversity!

In beaujolais the 10 crus can help you understand it better… To make a complicated story simple – The 10 crus are all different but can be divided in 3 main families from a ligher type like Brouilly to a richer like Moulin-à-vent and a medium body type like the Fleurie. Of course simplicity as its bad and depending on the year, the wine maker and the exact climate – you can find some specific wines out of their family box. I’ll write more on the crus differences in beaujolais very soon.

At the International Gamay Competition, I’m prepared to face 600 wines tomorrow, from Beaujolais, and Switzerland mainly but also Savoie,Italy, Central Europe, China, North Africa,
South America, Australia and New Zealand…

Gamay in the world

I think this competition is a brillant idea: first as a beaujolais girl, I tend to drink only the one from Beaujolais – beautiful but is that it?  The other gamay I’ve tried when selecting wines for the Vicky Loire and then the Vicky Swiss tasting got me seduced…what’s next?

Second, wines are more and more classified by there grape variety rather than their terroir, this is a problem with French AOC that we need to outreach if we want to gain new consumers…AND this is also good way to get a grasp on all these terroir differences all at once!

I’ll sip soon,

Just for you,

Vicky Wine

Gamay Noir à jus blanc