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For Thanksgiving Day
...a Beaujolais? No way. Way!
by Ed Fryer, with Valerie S. Hart
Nothing conjures curled sneers faster among American wine drinkers than the invocation of the dreaded, kitschy Beaujolais wine—especially that darling of mass marketing: Beaujolais Nouveau. But what do Americans really know about Beaujolais? For the curious and value-minded wine lover there is plenty to learn and savor from this misunderstood and maligned wine.
Tucked between Burgundy and Rhone, the Beaujolais region has supported vineyards since Roman times. There artisanal winemakers tend the Gamay grape, bred from the Pinot Noir and an ancient white variety, Gouais, and use a unique process called semi-carbonic maceration to ferment their juice. In this process, grapes in their skins are loaded into cement or stainless steel tanks that hold thousands of gallons. The weight causes the fruit at the bottom to burst their skins and undergo regular fermentation, but the bulk of the grapes undergo fermentation with their skins intact due to the high levels of carbon dioxide in the enclosed environment. This causes rapid fermentation, with some wines maturing in months, not years, and with very low tannins. The result, in better hands, is a wine that drinks well early, where the character of the fruit and its terroir can be distinctly tasted.
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