As the weather turns chilly here in southern Vermont we’re pulling out the comfort food and obsessively monitoring the trees for the first sign of our annual color-changing show. When it comes to saucier dishes with earthy flavors like thyme, mushroom and roasted meats, there’s one wine we always reach for: Beaujolais. You may know this as the ubiquitous Beaujolais Nouveau—it graces many a table in November after all—but there’s so much more to this French region and we want you to discover it.

Beaujolais by the Numbers

At a recent dinner, Kaiya and Nancy explored the many expressions of Beaujolais thanks to Vins du Beaujolais, Discover Beaujolais, Jeff Harding, Sopexa and a virtual visit from Sommelier, Erik Segelbaum hosted on the roof of Rooftop Reds in Brooklyn Navy Yard. We tasted our way through several examples of Beaujolais wine and here’s just the tip of the iceberg of what we learned.

1 2 3 4 5, 6 7 8 9 10, 11, 12…

If you don’t get the reference, this will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. You’re welcome.

Beaujolais has 12 appellations, each with unique terroir. Some produce only red wines, but there are areas in the south where you can find white and rosé production.

In addition to the twelve appellations, the average estate size is 12 hectares.

2 Grapes

In Beaujolais, Gamay is used for red and rosé production.

Chardonnay is used for whites.

3 Colors

Red reigns in Beaujolais, 94.5% of wines are reds produced using Gamay.

White wines comes in 2nd place but it’s just a teeny percentage of production: 3%.

In third place (by just a smidge) is rosé at 2.5% of total production.

Which Bojo Should YOU Drink?

How can a small region have twelve AOC? Well, it all has to do with terroir! Varied terrain, microclimates, soils and more give the crus and two larger areas their unique taste. If you watched our Live the other day (which you can rewatch any time on Facebook or Instagram) you know that each appellation in Beaujolais (10 of which are crus) has a unique profile. Erik Segelbaum provides a great mnemonic to get to know and remember them.

Want to know which Beaujolais to pour yourself a glass of? Just take our quiz to find out and be sure to let us know! Nancy is MORGON… which makes perfect sense. When you do pour yourself that Bojo, be sure it’s chilled. These light-bodied reds are best a little cool, 55-60 degrees!