Gamay Noir
Also known as Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc
Beaujolais, France
A light, juicy red grape that thrives in Beaujolais' granite soils, typically made into fresh, fruit-forward wines meant to be enjoyed young.
Sensory profile
Characteristics
Flavor & aroma
At a glance
Production facts
Prevalence
Niche
Climate
Cool climate
Ripening
Early season
Wine styles
Still
Where it's grown
Geography
Shaded areas are the state, province or département(s) containing each region, so they run wider than the appellations themselves.
France
Beaujolais
The grape's true home; granite-soil Crus like Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent show real structure beyond simple Nouveau.
Switzerland
Valais / Geneva
A long-established secondary home, often blended with Pinot Noir as "Dôle."
Background
Origin & History
Also a natural crossing of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc, Gamay first appears in Burgundian records in the 14th century — and almost immediately ran into trouble. In 1395, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, issued a famous edict denouncing Gamay as a "very bad and disloyal plant" and banning it from Burgundy's best vineyards in favor of the nobler Pinot Noir, pushing its cultivation south into the granite hills of Beaujolais, where it has remained the defining grape ever since.
For much of the 20th century Gamay was known internationally mainly through Beaujolais Nouveau, a simple, fruity wine released with fanfare each November just weeks after harvest. That reputation obscures the grape's real potential: the ten Beaujolais Crus — Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, and others — show that on the right granite soils, Gamay can produce structured, age-worthy wines far removed from its Nouveau image.
Lineage
Family tree
Ancestry above, descendants below. Click a related grape to explore its own lineage.