Grape

Gamay

07.03.2026 · Lorenz Verstraete

Banished by a duke, reviled as peasant wine, and yet it has become one of France's most beloved grapes. Gamay has a history that reads like a rehabilitation.

Gamay originates from the village of the same name south of Beaune in Burgundy, where the grape was first mentioned in the fourteenth century. After the devastation of the Black Death, it offered a welcome solution for winemakers: Gamay ripened about two weeks earlier than Pinot Noir, was more productive, and easier to cultivate. Moreover, it produced juicy, fruity wines that quickly became popular.

This success did not please the Burgundian dukes. In 1395, Philip the Bold prohibited its planting and called the grape "very bad and disloyal." According to him, Gamay produced simple wines and occupied valuable vineyards better suited for the prestigious Pinot Noir. A few decades later, Philip the Good confirmed the ban.

Thus, Gamay gradually moved south, to the granite soils of Beaujolais. There, the grape finally found its ideal home.

Light body

Licht Vol

Terroir

Gamay thrives best on poor, well-draining soils of granite, schist, and sand. Especially the pink granite soils of Northern Beaujolais give the grape its distinctive combination of freshness, minerality, and finesse.

The relatively cool climate ensures that Gamay retains its lively acidity, while the grape ripens sufficiently to develop expressive aromas of red and black fruit. On richer clay soils, fuller and more powerful wines typically emerge, while granite tends to provide elegance and tension.

Gamay produces medium-sized bunches with relatively thin skins and a naturally high acidity. The wines are light to medium-bodied in color, with soft tannins and a distinctly fruity character.

Typical aromas include strawberry, raspberry, cherry, red currant, and violets, often complemented by notes of banana, candy, or chewing gum when the wine is made via carbonic maceration. The better Gamay wines develop more complexity with bottle aging, with spices, forest floor, dried flowers, and sometimes a hint of truffle.

Although the grape is known for its accessible style, the best crus prove that Gamay can also produce concentrated, complex, and excellently age-worthy wines.

Carbonic Maceration

A large part of Gamay's recognizable style is due to carbonic maceration. In this process, whole grape bunches are placed in a sealed tank filled with carbon dioxide, where fermentation begins inside the intact grapes, without contact with oxygen.

The result: very fruity aromas, low tannins, and a particularly smooth structure. The typical scents of banana, raspberry, candy, and violets are its hallmark.

The technique also makes the wine ready to drink quickly, and is therefore inextricably linked with Beaujolais Nouveau. That story began in the nineteenth century, when the first wine of the new vintage was transported via the Saône to the bistros of Lyon. Upon arrival, signs appeared everywhere with the famous message "Le Beaujolais est arrivé!". From the 1960s, it grew into an international phenomenon, and since 1985, the INAO dictates that the wine is officially released on the third Thursday of November.

Gamay's full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc, which refers to its blue skin with colorless juice. Additionally, the grape bears local names such as Gamay Beaujolais, Bourguignon Noir, Petit Gamai, and Lyonnaise. In Switzerland and Savoie, it is simply called Gamay.

Until 1927, Gamay was permitted for the production of Champagne. After a ban and an eighteen-year transition period, the grape gradually disappeared from the appellation. The last Champagne in which Gamay was used dates from 1952.