nouveau / liquid assets / preview / review Beaujolais: Will Gamay stay or go?


In the face of climate change, growers in Beaujolais are contemplating a future without their traditional variety. Thanks to a culture of progressive research, however, it may be that all is not yet lost. Paul White reports


past 20 years. Producers, of course, have known they were being squeezed, with harvests steadily moving forward by days, weeks, and months over the past four or five decades. Where harvests were common in September, many are now pushing into July. It used to be hard to ripen grapes to 12% ABV; now, in some places, keeping that below 16% is nearing impossible. Journalists, buyers, and collectors who have been closely following vintage variation over the same period know that wine styles have changed, too—radically in some cases. So, what happens when a grape


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variety can no longer illuminate the terroir it has evolved within, or reaches the limits of its expression and now distorts not only its former self but also the place it comes from? That brings us to the future of Gamay in Beaujolais; to paraphrase The Clash,


rape growing has been climate change’s canary in the coal mine for decades now, especially the


Will it stay or will it go? Could Gamay slip into Pinot Noir’s place in Burgundy and farther north later? And will it eventually be supplanted by Syrah creeping up from the south and, perhaps in the deeper future, Grenache? Similar questions are being asked of other grapes throughout France’s tightly regulated AOCs and will be for years to come. Gamay was originally a Burgundian


grape variety, a natural crossing between Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. Significantly, it ripens a week after Pinot Noir and retains higher acidity levels. In theory, that should shove it right up front to replace Pinot in Burgundy when things get far too hot. It also begs the question of why Gamay was banished from Burgundy by Duke Philip the Bold in 1395. The primary reason quoted mentions acidic bitterness, probably due to its ripening as much as two weeks later than Pinot Noir 500 years ago. Not a bad “liability” to have now, in overheated days.


Regardless, Gamay has other feathers


in its tail. It also flowers earlier than Pinot, offering a longer growing season to develop complexity. Although, like Pinot, it doesn’t enjoy too much fertility or heat and sunburns easily, it retains more acidity and wears its fruitiness more freshly in high-alcohol vintages. Gamay has a lot of assets to fend off the warming climate, which is why the Beaujolais are trying to hold onto it for as long as possible.


Beaujolais frontline troops The Société d’Intérêt Collectif Agricole de Recherches et d’Expérimentations (SICAREX) of Beaujolais has been researching solutions for wine- production issues in the region since its foundation in the 1970s. Now, the institute is focused primarily on fighting the impact of climate change. Beaujolais’s reputation for


progressive wine research dates back over a century and a half, centering on the pioneering work of wine scientist, industrialist, and inventor Victor Vermorel. Vermorel coauthored the key reference work L’Ampélographie: Traité Général de Viticulture (1900), which illustrates and documents 5,200 grape varieties. He also invented the


24 | THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 87 | 2025


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