Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

Gamay Noir Wine Is a Cult Classic That’s Here to Stay

By

Gamay Noir has landed in the New World and its here to stay. The wine manages to be so many appealing things — straightforward, satisfying, cool, down-to-earth, and quite youthful. And it’s enjoying cult-like status stateside these days.

Before we talk about the tasty renditions being produced domestically, let’s begin with Gamay’s home turf. It is most famously tied to Beaujolais, the French wine region just south of Burgundy. But it also started out in the Loire Valley to the west. It’s a near-ancient grape, with shout-outs attesting to its bright acidity and easier-to-grow-than-Pinot qualities dating back to the 14th century.

Recommended Videos

How long ago is that? Let’s just say that Gamay is believed to have given relief to French villagers in the wake of the Black Death. In French lore, the grape had haters early on. The Duke of Burgundy even banned it, deeming it far inferior to his region’s pride and joy, Pinot Noir. But it grows vigorously and produces everything from deep, reflective wines to food-friendly table chuggers.

Man pouring red wine in glass during dinner party
Getty Images / Getty

Gamay is the only permitted grape in the popular Beaujolais Nouveau family of wines. Historically, these fresh, fruity wines were assembled as quickly as possible and rushed to Paris to eager and thirsty throngs. Legend has it that in the old days, the race was carried out by everything from hot air balloons to elephants towing rickshaws. When the wine arrives, the party begins, with the masses gleefully shouting, “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!”

Related

The tradition proceeds like clockwork today. The third Thursday of November is devoted to the release of this particular wine. In fact, releasing it any earlier — say, from the cellar to the City of Lights via McLaren — is illegal.

In the New World, Gamay is more like an affront to the old guard of red wine drinkers. It’s consumed early and often, never mind much cellaring. It’s juicy and occasionally complex but is more often just a straight-shooting pleasantry. And there’s no decoding what dish it should go with. Gamay goes with just about everything. You can even chill it. 

In that light, it makes sense that the stuff is so popular domestically these days. The wine echoes the newest generation of winemakers and their unfussy collective mentality. It also happens to do really well in sibling growing areas. The Willamette Valley, in particular, is quite similar to Gamay’s native stomping grounds and is becoming more and more known for the stuff.

Gamay is juicy and occasionally complex but is more often just a straight-shooting pleasantry.

What was once a curiosity is now a full-blown movement. There are hip festivals devoted to the grape, drawing more and more local producers. Vineyards are taking notice, too, planting more of the variety or grafting it on to pre-existing rootstock. Gamay experienced about a two-fold increase in plantings from 2016 to 2017 alone. More and more rows are coming.

Perhaps more than anything, Gamay reminds us that wine is, essentially, a simple joy. It’s made to be enjoyed with friends and food and, ideally, make both things even better in its company. Mélissa Rondeau and Greg McClellan of Suzor Wines in Oregon are cheerleaders of the variety, offering a hard-to-argue-with perspective.

“We are particularly excited to produce Gamay because of its unpretentiousness,” says Rondeau. “We believe it can reach a broader audience, from wine geeks to the novice. It’s juiciness, stylistically versatile from a winemaking stance, makes it a playful yet serious wine to produce.”

Want to dig into the cult classic? Here are a few Gamay Noirs to try.

Best Gamay Noir Wines

Willakenzie 2016 Gamay Noir

Willakenzie 2016 Gamay Noir
Image used with permission by copyright holder

For a version that shows darker-toned fruit, this wine is still nice and zippy. It’s still plenty fresh, despite being in the bottle for a couple of years.

Anne Amie 2017 Gamay Noir

Anne Amie 2017 Gamay Noir
Image used with permission by copyright holder

One of the most elaborate of the bunch, this Anne Amie take benefits from carbonic maceration. It’s elegant in terms of texture and shows notes of black tea, black currant, and leather. The 2016 is available now, with the ’17 to come. 

Martin Woods 2017 Havlin Vineyard Gamay Noir

Martin Woods 2017 Havlin Vineyard Gamay Noir
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If Gamay had a neon sign advertising its virtues, this wine is it. This Gamay is incredibly bright and red-fruit-driven, with a little dash of spice.

Division ‘Les Petits Fers’ 2018 Gamay Noir

Division 'Les Petits Fers' 2018 Gamay Noir
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Black cherry and tea leaves dominate this approachable take from urban producer Division Wine Company. Bonus points for the fantastic label.

Grochau Cellars 2017 Bjornson Vineyard Gamay Noir

Grochau Cellars 2017 Bjornson Vineyard Gamay Noir
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Willamette Valley’s Bjornson Vineyard continues to impress, this time via John Grochau’s take on Gamay. This one shows a bit more in the way of savory, with flecks of pepper, rosemary, and fennel shadowing fresh fruit flavors. The ’16 is available now, with the ’17 to come. 

Suzor 2018 Gamay Noir

Image used with permission by copyright holder

This is Suzor’s first vintage of Gamay and it’s a quality effort (and soon to be released). The nose is reminiscent of wild blueberry jam while the more expected flavors of pomegranate and cranberry round out a full and zesty flavor profile.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Mark Stock
Mark Stock
Contributor
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
A Guide to the California’s Petaluma Gap Wine Appellation
Sangiacomo Vineyards

In wine, the influence of the ocean can’t be understated. The sea provides wind, cooler temperatures, moisture, and more, all of which combine to temper the makeup the flavors of wine grapes and the resulting wines. Geological and climatological character breeds personality in wine.
The Petaluma Gap is one of those storied map features, a unique region in northern California. Extending from the Pacific Ocean to San Pablo Bay, it invites gusty marine air in and through its many corridors, treating the inland foothills to, well, an almost constant breath of fresh air. In 2018, an American Viticultural Area of the same name was granted recognition by the feds, honoring the special set of conditions that unfold here. But the Pertaluma Gap’s affects extend beyond its own namesake appellation.
In the Petaluma Gap AVA, Pinot Noir is dominant, making up about three-fourths of what’s planted. Syrah and Chardonnay flourish here as well, along with a little bit of Albariño, Riesling, Grenache, and a few other varieties. Grape growing in the region dates back to the 1830s when the governor of Mexican California planted vines. The first commercial operation came about a half-century later.
The marine layer here is dramatic, the stuff of post card images even. The mornings are shrouded in coastal fog before it's burned off by the sun in the afternoon. The climate is Mediterranean in nature, with a significant diurnal shift. Steady breezes in the afternoon funneling in from the coast concentrate flavor and limit yields in the vineyard. And because the elevation remains fairly low, there’s not much getting in the way of this significant marine influence.
Other AVAs altered for the better by the Petaluma Gap include the Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast. This is not the sunbaked California we like to think of. Here, high temperatures hover around the mid-70s, extending the growing season and securing a lot of the chemistry (sugar and acid balance especially) that winemakers adore. There's plenty of precipitation here as well, with a Willamette Valley-esque annual amount of close to 40 inches. Better still, there's a certain convenience about the Gap, as it starts just 25 short miles north from San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge.  
Here are a few labels to look out for that champion the distinctive ways of the Petaluma Gap. Together, these brands are helping to elevate this relatively new California appellation with every vintage. 

Patz & Hall

Read more
Tannat May Be Your New Favorite Barbecue Wine
Red wine pouring.

Have you heard of Tannat? The hearty red wine is great with summer barbecue and a welcome change of pace from more popular varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec.
A wine with plenty of muscle, Tannat can stand up to just about anything. It’s a fearless wine that likes to take gamey meats and heavy roasts head-on. For a while, it was used as a blending wine but thanks to a breakout run in South America, it’s become a standalone red with its own identity.
Tannat hails from the southwest of France where it continues to be pretty widely planted and produced. But it never quite gained the traction of the more celebrated reds from Bordeaux, Burgundy, or the Loire. Dubbed a bit harsh on the palate by many French producers, Tannat was often blended with Cab Franc or Cab Sauvignon to tone it down.
In the 18th century, Tannat made its way to Uruguay. The climate proved extremely suitable and the grape went on to become the country’s most planted and celebrated. In Uruguay, it’s known as Harriague, and tends to be a bit more refined than the Tannat coming out of elsewhere. Other South American countries have embraced the grape, along with a few American states like Texas, Virginia, California, and more.
There’s no overplaying Tannat’s might. It’s even bigger than other bold varieties like Petit Syrah and Mourvèdre. It’s chewy like a good Barolo, with tons of tannin and a pretty high alcohol content (the word tannin is widely believed to be derived from the varietal's name). Tannat is the kind of wine you can almost cut with a knife. But just because it likes to play at volume eleven does not mean Tannat is necessarily overwhelming.
Related Reading

Best Mass-produced Wine
Best Rosé Wine

Read more
California’s Pinot Noir is More Than Just Sideways References
the new california pinot noir glass

You can’t tell the story of New World Pinot Noir without California. The Golden State is where it started in America and it continues to be the place enthusiasts look for emerging styles, trends, and more.
At first, Northern California was deemed the only place really suitable for Pinot Noir’s temperamental ways. Wisdom in the mid-20th century said the weather was too unfavorable elsewhere. Coastal pockets of California resembled something akin to the grape variety’s native home in Burgundy.
Then came Oregon. A small band of UC Davis grads ignored the logic of the era and headed north for cooler temperatures and better growing conditions. An entire industry grew, primarily around the noble French grape. The scene became so strong that California started embracing the Oregon approach, going for lighter, purer, lower-alcohol Pinot Noir.
Then came a reinvigorated terroir movement and more serious regard for climate change. Today, growers are engaging in a balancing act of showing the unique flavors of their domain while tackling drought, wildfire smoke, and topsy-turvy weather patterns. This is all the more important when considering Pinot Noir, a thin-skinned grape known to be quite vulnerable. Now, growers are playing with cooler pockets of land and later-ripening clones. 
Yes, the West Coast Pinot Noir map is changing, but California is still a big part of the conversation. Sonoma remains a major growing area but other spots in California are showing potential, too, like the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA, amid better farming techniques and added experience earned over time. Plus, the love for American Pinot Noir is arguably at its highest point yet, both here and abroad.
Matt Revelette is the winemaker at Siduri. He says that a lot of evolution has occurred with regards to California Pinot Noir over the last couple of decades and that we’re still in the age of exploration. “The future looks bright,” Revelette says. “One of the things I enjoy is watching new vineyards get planted around the wild edges of growing areas where some may think it’s too cold, too rocky, too windy, and on and on."
Revelette points to the Anderson Valley and its history, with a Pinot Noir heritage that dates back to the early 1980s. In fact, Siduri’s first Pinot was made from Anderson Valley fruit in 1994. “Anderson Valley is the farthest north of the coastal valleys in California where wine grapes are commercially grown,” he says. “Is there another farther north? It’s exciting to think that there may be.”
In sunny California, ripening is rarely an issue. This tends to lead to a pronounced fruitiness in area Pinot Noirs, backed up by varying amounts of tannin, acid, earthiness, etc. that make each distinctive. “My favorite aspect of Pinot Noir is that it’s more of a winegrower’s grape and less of a winemaker’s grape,” Revelette says. It doesn’t like to be pushed one way or another by an overbearing vintner. If the fruit gets plenty of care in the vineyard, it can do wonders in the cellar.
“Once the fruit is crushed, it’s a process of seeing where the fermentation wants to go and trying to encourage it in the right direction — nothing too forceful but paying very close attention all the while.”
Lauren Mowery is a drinks writer whose work has appeared in Lonely Planet, Men's Journal, and more. She's a contributing editor for Wine Enthusiast and is well-versed in California Pinot. She says cooler geographical pockets like the Santa Rita Hill and Anderson Valley allow for freshness in Pinot Noir when the winemaker prioritizes it. In other areas, the shift has been to bigger Pinot, a result of some combination of following trends, pushing for critical acclaim, and climate change.

"As my personal taste skews towards lean, fresh, and earthy styles of Pinot, the producers helping define that scene include Jamie Kutch, who works with cool sites on the Sonoma Coast," Mowery says. She also mentions labels like Littorai and Drew. "Others to know include Hirsch, Knez and Lioco as well as Raj Parr and Sashi Moorman’s Santa Barbara projects Sandhi and Domaine de la Côte, respectively."

Read more