‘Uncorked’ Wine Club Launched this month
Cheers
🥂
Cheers 🥂
The wines of Beaujolais were the focus of the Food Coop’s inaugural ‘Uncorked’ wine club shipment on May 6, with members receiving a selection of wines from some of the region’s most esteemed crus.
Guy Breton Beaujolais Villages ‘Cuvee Marylou’ 2020
Quentin Harel, Morgon, ‘Les Charmes’ 2018
Nicole Chanrion, Domaine de la Voûte des Crozes, Côte-de-Brouilly 2020
Guy Breton, Régnié, 2020
Immensely quaffable, absolutely terroir driven and noted for delivering pleasure far beyond their price point, Cru Beaujolais has long been the darling of sommeliers and wine program managers alike. Bottle after bottle, vintage after vintage, the region delivers soft, medium-bodied red wines flush with notes of exotic spices, delicate perfumed floral aromas, grip, lip smacking acidity and innumerable pairing possibilities. They are, without a doubt, as perfect for summer porch pounding as they are for sharing over a meal with family and friends. They are simultaneously simple and complex and can also be the perfect match for many holiday meals. And while some crus, such as Morgon, produce wines capable of short-term cellaring, these are not the wines to squirrel away for the long haul. Beaujolais is about the moment. Quaffability and youthful freshness are its hallmarks.
For those unfamiliar with Beaujolais, the region is home to red wines made from the gamay grape, which many describe as complex yet approachable and slightly reminiscent of a fruity pinot noir. Beaujolais, and all gamay-driven reds for that matter, can be paired with a wide variety of foods and enjoyed at room temperature or slightly chilled. They are fantastic with cheese, poultry and pork and make perfect party wines.
For those craving deeper context, Beaujolais is also home to France’s natural wine movement – a movement spearhead by men such as Guy Breton, Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard and Jean-Paul Thévenet. These men – dubbed the ‘Gang of Four’ by legendary importer Kermit Lynch – called for a return to quintessential, and traditional, Beaujolais practices of viticulture and vinification: always start with old vines, never use synthetic herbicides or pesticides, harvest late, rigorously sort to remove all but the healthiest grapes, add minimal doses of sulfur dioxide or none at all, and never chaptalize. Over the decades, those principles have expanded to include biodynamic and organic farming and vineyard management. If you have any interest in learning more about ‘natural’ wine, Beaujolais made by any of the above producers is the perfect place to start.
In this month’s shipment, club members received either a two, or four-bottle, Beaujolais sampler, along with tasting notes and tech sheets, recipes and pairing suggestions and a little extra co-op swag. Future shipments will also include either a virtual or in-person ‘member’s only’ tasting event. Stay tuned for dates and times.
If you like Beaujolais, or are curious about gamay, we offer many wines from some of the most prominent Beaujolais crus, in addition to gamay-driven wines from Washington, Oregon and Italy. All club wines listed above will be available to the general public next week. For those keen on a deep dive into the wines of Guy Breton, message me directly at jamesr@foodcoop.coop. In addition to his Beaujolais Villages and Régnié, we offer fresh vintages of Breton’s Morgon, Chiroubles, Côte-de-Brouilly and Fleurie.
If you’d like to join the Uncorked Wine Club, we’d love to have you – May 15 is the sign-up deadline for the June club shipment. Cheers, and see you on Aisle 5.
