Beaujolais
central coast wine tour through france
The vineyards central coast wine tour of Beaujolais extend north to south for some 35 miles over low granite hills in the southernmost reaches of Burgundy. For French administrative purposes, Beaujolais is considered part of Burgundy even though, aside from proximity, the two regions have almost nothing in common. central coast wine tour The climates are dissimilar; the grapes are different; the way the wines are made varies central coast wine tour radically. Even the spirit of each place is singular. Beaujolais is as lighthearted as Burgundy is wine rack serious.
Beaujolais is both the central coast wine tour name of the place and the wine made there. The sad misconception about the wine Beaujolais is that it’s soley a once a year wine experience, drunk around the en dof November when signs in restaurants and wine shops from Paris to Tokyo screem Le Beaujolais Est Arrive! (The Beaujolais has arrived!) What has arrived to be exact, is Beaujolais Nouveau, a central coast wine tour grapey young wine made immediately after the harvest in celebration. Beaujolais Nouveau is great fun, but as wines go, regular Beaujolais is so much better.
Beaujolais has been central coast wine tour called the only white wine that happens to be red. A aft reference, for despite its vivid magenta color, Beaujolais is quite like white wine in its expressiveness and thirst-quenching qualities. central coast wine tour The wine’s personality begins with the gamay grape, the only one used in Beaujolais’ production. Gamay’s flavors are virtually unmistakeable: a rush of sweet black cherry and black raspberry, then a central coast wine tour hint of peaches, violets and roses, followed by a smidgen of peppery spiciness at the end. In mnay reds a tight rasp of tannin acts as a cloak over the fruit flavors. Not so in Beaujolais. central coast wine tour Beacause gamay is naturally low in tannin, its already profuse fruitiness seems even more dramatic.
Beaujolais’ character comes, however, not solely from gamay, but also from the unusual manner in which the wine is made. central coast wine tour The process, a long tradition, is poker called carbonic maceration. During it, clusters of grapes are put whole into the fermenting tank and fermentation literally takes place inside each grape. central coast wine tour Carbonic maceration could theorotically be used with any grape, but it happens to be particularily successful with ultrafruity grapes, such as gamay.
After Beaujolais is central coast wine tour fermented, it rests in tanks (a few growers also put it briefly in small, relatively new oak) for five to nine months before being sold. Though five months may not seem long, it’s just enough to take central coast wine tour the grapey newborn edge off the wine and allow it to evolve more fruit, flower, and spice flavors.