Easy going, likes to party, gets along well with others (foods)
You’ve probably heard of the grape variety, and hence the wine, Pinot Noir. Well, think of Gamay Noir as Pinot’s younger, high energy, up for anything cousin. They grew up close to one another in France, Pinot in Burgundy and Gamay just a 100km South in Beaujolais. Aside: You might recognize the name Beaujolais, as in Beaujolais Noveau. This is the overly simple bubble gum tasting slightly acidic juice that you find in a flamboyantly coloured bottle that’s simultaneously released around the world on the third Thursday in November. If you have tried these wines, put them out of your mind as they’re a bit of a joke in the wine world and definitely not representative of the Gamay grape.
So, I think we were talking about how Gamay likes to party, and when you drink it you will too. Well made Gamay has expressive bright lively fruit aromas, it has a lot lighter feel in your mouth than a Shiraz or a Cabernet, and it’s typically much lower in alcohol which means you can drink way more (hence the party aspect). But what I find most interesting is that drinking Gamay makes you hungry. And because it’s such an ‘easy going’ grape it goes well with a lot of different foods. In conclusion, Gamay is the perfect wine for a cocktail party where you’ve made some yummy foods for your guests to enjoy and you want them to stay relatively conscious enough to party for the entire evening while still feeling all the good things that drinking red wine gives you. Enter our third selection for WineCamp – Malivoire Wine Company’s 2007 Gamay, made from organically grown grapes.