Depending on what your Thanksgiving looks like it could include an array of different food menus. What if I told you I had a magic wand that could make one wine pair with (nearly) every single food item imaginable?

But for now, we’re going to talk about the glory days of Beaujolais, how this paved the way for its fall and (to put it bluntly) its subsequent shi*t reputation. And all of that has to do with Beaujolais Nouveau.

Hopefully in Beaujolais 101 we’ve convinced you all to love Beaujolais and you’re ready to run out and buy one (or two or five) right now! Great, so what do you look for? How do you shop for it? 

We’ll be starting in France with a region that is commonly misunderstood and has quite the tumultuous history. However, in recent decades it’s been subject to something of a revival, with the region and the grape variety associated with it becoming a bit of a fashionable pin-up in the wine world.

Grape varietal doesn’t matter! Ok, ok. This isn’t 100% true. But, what is true is that where a wine is from (aka region, aka a wine’s terroir) is just as important, if not more important than the varietal.

Gamay is a grape variety native to Beaujolais, France. It’s delicious—fun, flirty, light and juicy…