The French wine-growing region is part of Burgundy in terms of wine law and is located in the far south. Historically, however, Beaujolais has never belonged to it. An exception is the northern part, which belongs to the department of Sâone-et-Loire and therefore also to Burgundy in administrative terms. The majority, however, with the capital Villefranche-sur-Saône, belongs administratively to the Rhône department and is therefore part of the Rhône-Alpes region. The southernmost part of the Beaujolais forms its own appellation, Coteaux du Lyonnais. This is an ancient wine-growing region, as the remains of Roman vineyards have been discovered at Mont Broully (one of the cru communes). In the 7th century AD, further vineyards were planted by monks of the Roman Catholic Benedictine order.
Edict of Duke of Burgundy Philip II
The name is derived from the Burgundian noble family of the Beaujeu, who ruled here from 950 to 1400. The small town of Beaujeu was established at the foot of their castle fortress in the 10th century. It gained independence from Burgundy through the edict of the Duke of Burgundy Philip II the Bold (1342-1404), which prohibited the cultivation of the Gamay grape in Burgundy proper. Until the middle of the 17th century, however, viticulture played only a minor role here. This was also due to the poor transport options for transporting the wine to the major collection centres, so the wine was mainly consumed in the area itself. It was only with the construction of the Briare Canal, which linked the Loire and Seine rivers from 1642, that the market finally opened up to Paris.
Area, soil and climate
The area extends over 50 kilometres in length and 30 kilometres in width. The Sâone river valley lies to the east and the Burgundian Mâconnais region borders to the north, with which Beaujolais overlaps to a small extent. There are two different geological areas. In the north, where the best quality wines are produced, granite predominates, while limestone is found in the south. The temperate climate, which is ideal for viticulture, has continental, Atlantic and Mediterranean influences. The vineyards cover around 22,000 hectares at an altitude of between 200 and 450 metres above sea level in 96 municipalities. The market is dominated by large winegrowers' co-operatives. Around 2,500 winegrowers own only small vineyards.
Production of Beaujolais
The red Beaujolais is mostly produced from the classic Beaujolais grape Gamay, which is characterised by its white pulp (Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc) . This variety is not important anywhere else. It accounts for 99% of the vineyards. This extreme monoculture emerged after the phylloxera catastrophe. The tiny remainder is made up of...
