Beaujolais, France

A little area south of Burgundy, Beaujolais is one of the more "casual" wine regions in France, producing wine with Gamay Noir grapes. Long considered part of Burgundy, the quality labels drinks a lot like red Burgundy.

It's a light red wine, with tart raspberry & cherry flavors & high acidity, balanced out with flavors of mushroon, smoke, violet & banana that come from the granite and schist soils to the North, and clay soils to the South. The Crus of Beaujolais, such as Saint-Amour, Fluerie, and Morgon, all come from the North

The taste of banana comes from the semi-carbonic maceration that brings out the amazing fruity aromas of the Gamay Noir grape. Instead of crushing the grapes, they place a lid on the trank & allow gravity to crush the grapes. This creates carbon dioxide from the fermenting juice at the bottom of the tank, which then causes the other grapes to explode as they ferment inside the grape berry! This style of fermentation is also responsible for the distinctive aromas of banana, candied fruits, pear, raspberry and cranberry in the finished wine!

Something to look out for when buying Beaujolais wine is that the clay soils & flatland terrain in the South lead to a wide variance in quality, as it is difficult to properly ripen the grapes