GAMAY: Beaujolais, Bubblegum & Strawberry Blondes!

Baby, It's cold outside and I've just decided what to drink with my Christmas Turkey. It's got to be Gamay! Distinctive and light bodied, it ticks all the boxes for Turkey; not overpowering the meat, but standing up to the trimmings.

Christmas makes you nostalgic and try as I might, I can't get this Gamay VINALOGY out of my head, so I thought I'd share...

It's snowing outside and my 9 year-old self is wrapped up warm inside the local sweet shop. There's another young girl in there, the spitting image of Annie (from the film!) Dressed in a bright pink coat and with a shock of soft, red curls, she giggles to herself as she fills a bag with strawberry bubblegum, Parma Violets and banana sweets.

This image, to me, is quintessentially Gamay - the grape that makes the famous light red wines of Beaujolais: it's easy drinking, juicy, light, super-soft and fun. Gamay smells of over ripe strawberries and is made to be drunk young and wonderful when a little chilled. It's been a hard knock life for Gamay, but this once desperately unfashionable wine is now back in vogue thanks to its juicy, light body and soft glug-ability in a world of too-heavy reds.

Beaujolais isn't all about bubblegum though. Here are the 4 main styles that get progressively more serious...

TASTING TOUR

Start with Beaujolais Nouveau - the Annie: that kid in the sweet shop! Light, bright and very gluggable, with bubblegum, raspberry and sometimes, banana flavours. Drink as fresh as possible, within 1 year of the vintage (year of production)!

Next, try a straight Beaujolais - The Isla Fisher: a gentle step up with a touch more maturity, but still that bouncy, fun kid underneath. More juicy strawberry and raspberry here.

Now, go to the next level with a Beaujolais-Villages - the Lily Cole: pretty, perfumed Gamay with a good education, a clear personal style and earning well, so it's a little bit richer and a touch more sophisticated!

At the top of the tree, is Beaujolais 'Cru' - the Miranda: in a light-hearted show, she's the serious one. More full-on, the curls have been cut and she's showing more age! There are 10 separate villages* in this Beaujolais 'crew' and they're like softer, juicer versions of Pinot Noir. Think savory spice, wild strawberry and black cherry.

* The 10 Cru will be labelled by village. Here they are, going light to heavy:
Brouilly, Regnie, Chiroubles, Cote de Brouilly, Fleurie, Saint-Amour, Julienas, Chenas, Morgon, Moulin a Vent.



So there you have it - Gamay is a great Christmas wine match for Turkey that you can happily glug all day. Why not try one of each to compare? You'll get through them all between you this Christmas!

Enjoy,

WB xx