Beaujolais ( , ) is a French Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) wine in the Burgundy region. Red Beaujolais wines are generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannin, but like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites, 1% of production, are made mostly with Chardonnay, though Aligoté was also permitted until 2024. Beaujolais tends to be a very light-bodied red wine, with relatively high acidity. In some vintages, Beaujolais produces more wine than the Burgundy wine regions of Chablis, Côte d'Or, Côte Chalonnaise, and Mâconnais put together.
The wine takes its name from the historical Province of Beaujolais. It is located north of Lyon, in the departments of Rhône and Saône-et-Loire. While administratively part of the Burgundy wine region, the climate is closer to that of the Rhône, and the wine is sufficiently individual in character to be considered apart from Burgundy and Rhône. The region is known internationally for its long tradition of winemaking, for the use of carbonic maceration, and more recently for the popular Beaujolais nouveau.
History
The region of Beaujolais was first cultivated by the Romans who planted the areas along its trading route up the Saône valley. The most noticeable Roman vineyard was Brulliacus located on the hillside of Mont Brouilly. The Romans also planted vineyards in the area around Morgon. From the 7th century through the Middle Ages, most of the viticulture and winemaking was done by the Benedictine monks. In the 10th century, the region got its name from the town of Beaujeu and was ruled by the Lords of Beaujeu until the 15th century when it was ceded to the Duchy of Burgundy. The wines from Beaujolais were mostly confined to the markets along the Saône and Rhône, particularly in the city of Lyon. The expansion of the French railroad system in the 19th century opened up the lucrative Paris market. The first mention of Beaujolais wines in English followed soon after when Cyrus Redding described the wines of Moulin-à-Vent and Saint-Amour as being low-priced and best consumed young. The edicts had the effect of pushing Gamay plantings southward, out of the main region of Burgundy and into the granite-based soils of Beaujolais, where the grape thrived. This triggered an outcry among Beaujolais producers, followed by an association of 56 cooperative producers filing a lawsuit against Lyon Mag for publishing Mauss's comments.
Rather than sue for libel, the producers sued under an obscure French law that punishes the denigration of French products. In January 2003, the court in Villefranche-sur-Saône found in favor of the Beaujolais producers and awarded USD$350,000, which would have put the small employee-owned publication out of business. Georges Duboeuf denied wrongdoing, blaming human error and pointing out that none of the affected wine was released to consumers.
In December 2007, five people were arrested after reportedly selling nearly 600 tonnes of sugar to growers in Beaujolais. Up to 100 growers were accused of using the sugar for illegal chaptalization and also of exceeding volume quotas between 2004 and 2006.
Climate and geography
thumb|left|Cru Beaujolais region of Régnié
Beaujolais is a large wine-producing region, larger than any single district of Burgundy. There are over of vines planted in a stretch of land that is between 7 and wide (11 to 14 km). The historical capital of the province is Beaujeu and its economic capital is Villefranche-sur-Saône. Many Beaujolais vineyards are found in the hillsides on the outskirts of Lyon in the eastern part of the region along the Saône valley. The Massif Central is to the west and has a tempering influence on the climate. The region is south of the Mâconnais, with a small overlap in AOC borders: growers in specific areas may produce white wines under the Saint-Véran AOC (Mâconnais) or red wines under the Beaujolais AOC. There are 12 main appellations of Beaujolais wines covering the production of more than 96 villages in the Beaujolais region. They were originally established in 1936, with additional crus being promoted in 1938 and 1946, plus Régnié in 1988. About half of all Beaujolais wine is sold under the basic Beaujolais AOC designation. The majority of this wine is produced in the southern Bas Beaujolais region located around the town of Belleville. The minimum natural alcohol level for the grapes is 10%,
right|thumb|Cru Beaujolais from Brouilly
- Cru Beaujolais, the highest category of classification in Beaujolais, account for the production within ten villages/areas in the foothills of the Beaujolais mountains. Unlike Burgundy and Alsace, the phrase cru in Beaujolais refers to an entire wine-producing area rather than an individual vineyard.