🍇 Gamay
A red wine grape used to make Beaujolais.
Gamay is a dark-skinned wine grape from France and the main variety of red Beaujolais. Its full name in the VIVC catalogue is Gamay Noir; among its 219 synonyms there is even Beaujolais.
Geneticists have worked out Gamay's pedigree. In 1999 the journal Science published an analysis of more than 300 varieties: Gamay, Chardonnay, Aligoté and Melon turned out to be offspring of the same pair, Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. Both parent varieties were widespread in north-eastern France in the Middle Ages. The VIVC confirms this origin with DNA markers.
According to an OIV review, crosses of Pinot Noir with Gouais Blanc produced 21 varieties grown in France, and Gamay is one of them. The OIV gives no separate world area figures for Gamay.
Under the rules of the Beaujolais appellation, the main variety for red and rosé wines is Gamay; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Aligoté are among those allowed as secondary varieties. White Beaujolais is made only from Chardonnay. The terms “primeur” and “nouveau” are allowed only for red and rosé wines. The best known of these is Beaujolais Nouveau, which traditionally goes on sale on the third Thursday of November.
Why it matters to you. The name Beaujolais on a red wine means its main variety is Gamay, even if the label does not say so. The words “primeur” or “nouveau” point to a young wine from the new harvest. And if a wine from the EU says “Gamay”, it contains at least 85% of this variety. Red wines are served at 15–18 °C.
How it connects to Wine
🍇 Gamay → kind of → 🍇 Grape varieties → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- What is made from it
- 🥃 Marc de Bourgogne, 🥃 Marc d'Auvergne, 🥃 Fine de Bourgogne
- Part of
- 🍇 Grape varieties
- Origin
- 🗺️ French wine
- Where it grows
- Switzerland: 📍 Valais, 📜 Fully, 📍 Vaud, 📍 La Côte, 📜 Morges, 📜 Nyon, 📍 Côtes de l'Orbe, 📍 Geneva, 📍 Mandement, 📜 Satigny
France: 📍 Beaujolais, 📍 Loire Valley, 📍 Burgundy, 📍 Beaujolais crus (north), 📍 Southern Beaujolais, 📍 Lorraine
Serbia: 📍 Negotin Valley, 📍 Rajac wine cellars, 📍 Rogljevo wine cellars, 📍 Knjaževac
Kosovo: 📍 Dukagjini (Metohija), 📍 Rahovec (Orahovac), 📍 Suharekë - Main grape in
- France: 📜 Brouilly, 📜 Fleurie, 📜 Mâcon, 📍 Beaujolais, 📜 Crémant de Bourgogne, 📜 Côte de Brouilly, 📜 Moulin-à-Vent, 📜 Rosé d'Anjou, 📜 Saint-Amour, 📍 Touraine
and 29 more
📜 Morgon, 📜 Vin de Savoie, 📍 Burgundy, 📜 Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains, 📜 Cheverny, 📜 Châteaumeillant, 📜 Chénas, 📜 Collines Rhodaniennes, 📜 Coteaux de Glanes, 📜 Coteaux du Giennois, 📜 Coteaux du Lyonnais, 📜 Côtes de Millau, 📜 Juliénas, 📜 Coteaux Bourguignons, 📜 Coteaux d'Ancenis, 📜 Côtes d'Auvergne, 📜 Côtes du Forez, 📜 Haut-Poitou, 📜 Valençay, 📜 Bourgogne mousseux, 📜 Chiroubles, 📜 Châtillon-en-Diois, 📜 Côte Roannaise, 📜 Côtes de Meuse, 📜 Côtes de Toul, 📜 Rosé de Loire, 📜 Régnié, 📜 Saint-Pourçain, 📜 Bugey
Italy: 📜 Colli del Trasimeno - Related to
- 🍷 Joseph Drouhin Brouilly, 🍷 Joseph Drouhin Brouilly Domaine des Hospices de Belleville, 🍷 Joseph Drouhin Fleurie, 🍷 Joseph Drouhin Fleurie Domaine des Hospices de Belleville, 🍷 Joseph Drouhin Morgon, 🍷 Joseph Drouhin Morgon Domaine des Hospices de Belleville, 🍷 Joseph Drouhin Moulin-à-Vent, 🍷 Joseph Drouhin Saint-Amour, 🍷 Beaujolais nouveau, 🍷 Carbonic maceration, 🏷️ Beaujolais cru, 🍷 New wine
- Wines made from it
- 🍷 Rosé
- Parents
- 🍇 Gouais Blanc, 🍇 Pinot Noir
- Offspring
- 🍇 Florental, 🍇 Garanoir, 🍇 Oberlin Noir, 🍇 Gamaret, 🍇 Gamay Teinturier de Bouze
Frequently asked questions
Who are the parents of Gamay?
Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. This was shown by a 1999 study in the journal Science, and it is recorded in the VIVC catalogue.
Are Gamay and Chardonnay related?
Yes, they are siblings: both come from a cross of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc, as do Aligoté and Melon.
When does Beaujolais Nouveau appear?
Traditionally on the third Thursday of November of the harvest year. The terms “nouveau” and “primeur” are allowed only for red and rosé Beaujolais.
Is it true that white Beaujolais is also made from Gamay?
No. Under the appellation rules, white Beaujolais is made only from Chardonnay, while Gamay is the main variety for reds and rosés.
How many names does Gamay have?
The VIVC catalogue counts 219 synonyms, Beaujolais among them. The main name is Gamay Noir.
What to read next
- 🗺️ French wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes and appellations.
- 📍 Touraine — A land of châteaux, home to Vouvray and Chinon.
- 🍷 Joseph Drouhin Brouilly — Joseph Drouhin Brouilly: red wine by Joseph Drouhin from Beaujolais; Brouilly.
- 📍 Valais — Switzerland's largest wine canton, on the upper Rhône: 4,578 ha, almost a third of the country's vineyards (2025).
- 🥃 Marc de Bourgogne — Marc de Bourgogne is a protected EU name for a spirit from the marc of Burgundy and Beaujolais wines. Aged at least 2 years in oak, so amber, and sold from 40% ABV (80 proof); «vieux» from 3 years, «hors d'âge» from 10.
Similar
🍇 Chasselas · 🍇 Grolleau · 🍇 Aligoté · 🍇 Prokupac · 🍇 Roublot · 🍇 Romorantin
Sources
- VIVC (Vitis International Variety Catalogue): passport Gamay Noir, pedigree confirmed by DNA markers
- Bowers J. et al. Historical genetics: the parentage of Chardonnay, Gamay, and other wine grapes of northeastern France. Science, 1999
- INAO: cahier des charges de l'AOC « Beaujolais »
- OIV Focus 2017: Distribution of the world's grapevine varieties
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33, Art. 49–50 (vintage year, wine grape varieties on the label)
- Simons C.T. Left out in the cold: Serving wines chilled. Temperature, 2019