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As a pioneer, the Beaujolais winegrowing region did not wait for the various government initiatives to define sustainable environmental practices. As early as 1989, the first groups of enthusiastic winegrowers got together to study their vines and determine the most sustainable way to protect them. Winegrowers now work collectively on a new vision of agriculture: agroecology, aimed at achieving a high-performance production system with respect to environmental, economic and social aspects, while preserving natural resources. That means maintaining or reintroducing biodiversity throughout an estate, limiting inputs, preserving soil life and water quality, and restoring a diverse natural landscape.

The High Environmental Value (HVE) certification system is the result of the French Environment Round Table (Grenelle de l’Environnement). The voluntary commitment to the initiative leads to an estate being accredited. It identifies and promotes environmentally-friendly practices and focuses on four key topics: biodiversity, use of phytosanitary products, management of fertilisation and water resources. In 2020, there are over 200 HVE-certified vineyards in Beaujolais, making it one of the most active winegrowing regions for the accreditation.

Beaujolais is the region where Terra Vitis came into being back in 1998. It is an organisation that groups together winegrowers with high standards, motivated by their respect for nature and Mankind. In 2020, it counts a hundred or so members working in the Beaujolais vineyard, ranging from recently-established growers to major traditional estates, united around their choice for healthy, sustainable winegrowing. Terra Vitis is a low-input, integrated viticulture approach, currently recognised in France with a Level 2 environmental certification. As of 2020, the Terra Vitis specifications also encompass all the Level 3 environmental certification criteria equal to HVE.

In early 2020, there were over 150 wine estates in Beaujolais being managed organically or converted over. The European certification process promotes ecosystem balance in order to interfere as little as possible with nature. It prohibits the use of synthetic chemicals.

In addition, about ten Beaujolais growers have made a commitment to Demeter-certified biodynamic approaches. The Demeter certification advocates the use of biodynamic products that contribute energetically to the ecosystem balance in tune with cosmic cycles.

CSR commitment
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the response of companies committed to and acting in favour of sustainable development. It is defined by an international standard (ISO 26 000): the responsibility of a company with respect to its impacts and decisions on the environment and society expressed through ethical and transparent behaviour. CSR takes into account environmental issues as well as social (health and safety of employees, consumers and residents, etc.) and economic aspects (company sustainability, relations with suppliers and customers, links to the territory). A responsible company knows its stakeholders and acts with them to ensure sustainable development. In Beaujolais, several companies have made commitments. Some, like Château de l’Eclair, received recognition for their approach from an independent, external assessor, and have been awarded the CSR commitment label (Engagé RSE, in French).

Transforming grapes into wine is a science as much as an art. It is a complex process that requires expert knowledge. Each vineyard perfects its technique and, even though the procedures can often be similar, there are many different ways of doing things.

Winegrowers in the Beaujolais region can choose between several vinification methods including a method known as known as Beaujolais vinification.

First stage: the harvests

It all starts with the harvest. The bunches of Gamay noir à jus blanc grapes are handpicked with great care. Damaged berries are removed during the picking.

Why is so much care taken, given that the grapes are going to be pressed?

That’s the part of the process that’s specific to the Beaujolais region: the grapes are put into vats, without compacting, in entire bunches and are not removed from the stalk. This process gives the wine many of its fruity aromas.

Second stage: semi-carbonic maceration

This is where it gets complicated! The following explains the different processes at work.

The grapes macerate in the vat. The whole bunches of grapes in the top of the tank are in an atmosphere where carbonic gas progressively replaces the oxygen from the air. Fermentation inside the berries begins. This is known as intracellular fermentation. It produces small quantities of alcohol and releases specific aromas.

The bunches in the middle of the vat macerate in the juice resulting from the accumulation of grapes. The grape skin determines what happens to the bunches of grapes. The skin releases tannins, coloured pigments and aromatic compounds. Tannins determine the future structure of the wines on the palate, the pigments and the colour of the wine. It’s during this stage that the wine takes on its red robe. Yeasts act on the juice from the grape pulp, transforming the sugar into alcohol.

At the bottom of the vat, the compressed grapes release juice. The yeasts, microorganisms that are naturally present on the grapes, then go into action. They wake up when they come into contact with the sugars in the grape juice, transforming them into alcohol and carbonic gas. This is known as alcoholic fermentation.

“Pouring juice over the grape cap”

Alongside this natural process, the winemaker regularly pours juice over the bunches of grapes on the surface, known as the ‘cap’, to ensure a consistent temperature. The juice used for pouring is taken from the bottom of the vat. This is called pumping over or remontage. Soaking the grape in its own juice results in an even fruitier wine.

Everything we have just described is called semi-carbonic maceration. It is a term specific to the Beaujolais region.

How is this different to “traditional” carbonic maceration?

In the Beaujolais region, the vat is not hermetically sealed once it is filled. The winemakers allow fermentation to occur naturally without adding carbonic gas.

How long does maceration take?

Maceration influences the cellaring potential of wine. It varies from 4 to 15 days on average, depending on the wine that a winemaker wants to obtain.

In the ten Beaujolais AOC crus, the bunches of grapes are left to macerate for around 10 to 15 days, for Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages it’s around 6 to 10 days.

For primeur wines (Beaujolais Nouveau and Beaujolais Villages Nouveau), the process takes 4 to 6 days.

Third stage: devatting

After maceration comes the soutirage or racking: the free-run juice is drained off from the bottom of the vat.

The bunches of grapes that remain in the vat are removed to be pressed: this is known as devatting and pressing.

Pressing the grapes leads to paradise! Or rather “paradis” as the press juice is called in French, a very sweet and aromatic nectar.

The free-run juice and the press juice are then blended to continue their fermentation. This blend makes the vintage richer and the aromas more complex.

This is where the élevage or maturing starts. It’s during this phase that the wine reveals its potential.

Beaujolais tuns – seems like a rather strange concept, doesn’t it? But don’t worry, it’s not a misspelling for some kind of rare measurement of weight. A tun spelt with a ‘u’ is the place where most Beaujolais winegrowers store the majority of their cellaring wines for aging.

WHAT EXACTLY IS A TUN?

A tun is a large wooden cask that can store up to 300 hectoliters of wine. Imagine a giant cask or barrel, and you’ll be able to visualize exactly what a tun is!

While most other French wines use different types of barrels or casks with smaller capacities, Beaujolais wines develop much better in tuns. It gives them more space to live and breathe. Because as it matures, wine is actually a living entity! It is constantly evolving and changing until it finds its own harmony!

WHAT DOES AGEING IN TUNS BRING TO BEAUJOLAIS WINES?

Why do winegrowers in the Beaujolais region prefer tuns to barrels and other casks and vats? Simply because the type of container affects the contents. A wine that matures in a wooden barrel or cask tends to become impregnated with the aromas of the wood and develop vanilla, toasted and grilled notes.

Growers in the Beaujolais region want their wines to develop distinct grape and red fruit aromas. Therefore, they prefer to mature their wines in tuns to temper the oaky aromas that might permeate are attenuated in the wine. In fact, as the capacity of a tun is much larger than that of a barrel or cask, the woody flavours become more diluted in the wine. The wood is less concentrated, leaving plenty of room for the real star of the show: the grape.

As the Beaujolais tun is also a wider cask, the wine is better oxygenated. It is this oxygenation that enables the aromas to develop.  As you’re probably aware, it is recommended to aerate red wine for at least 20 minutes before serving. But have you ever wondered why? Well, when you uncork a bottle and the air enters, it awakens the wine. All the molecules start moving and this helps the wine develop fully.  Try it next time you serve a Beaujolais wine. Taste the wine as soon as you open it and then again 20 minutes later.  You’ll notice a lot more flavors the second time!

The same phenomenon occurs in the Beaujolais tuns, enabling wines from a given vineyard to fully express their particular terroir.

IS THE TYPE OF WOOD USED TO MAKE A TUN IMPORTANT?

Even though only an infinitesimal part of the wine comes into contact with the wood of the tun, the particular vintage inside is bound to retain some traces of it. For Beaujolais wines to achieve their intensity, they are usually stored in tuns made from French oak. This wood wasn’t just chosen at random!

Different types of wood from different origins are used for making wine barrels. But Beaujolais winegrowers chose French oak because of its finesse. Unlike American oak, for example, French oak tends not to impregnate the wine so strongly. Its more subtle aroma allows the grape and the terroir on which it was grown to express themselves
more fully.

Depending on whether growers in the Beaujolais are making red, rosé or white wines and whether they want to create more rounded and complex wines or, conversely, keep the typical characteristics of the terroir, they choose the container that best suits their particular purpose: traditional wooden ones (barrel, half-hogshead, tun), cask or even in the bottle. But tuns are generally preferred here because they give the gamay grape the space to fully develop and help it take on the fruitiness that is typical of Beaujolais wines.

Beaujolais first became internationally known in the 20th century thanks to Beaujolais Nouveau although its winegrowing area is thousands of years old.

Beaujolais wines since Antiquity!

Vineyards in the Beaujolais region go back to Antiquity! There are signs of winegrowing in the first century BC, at the time of the Romans.
The Juliénas cru is said to be named after one Julius Caesar.

… During the Middle Ages

From the early Middle Ages, the Lords of Beaujeu left their mark on the region. One of them, Bérard, became known from around 957 thanks to his wine trading. The Lords of Beaujeu gave their name to the area and contributed to its aura. Beaujeu was the capital of the Beaujolais region up until the early sixteenth century, when it was replaced by Villefranche-sur-Saône.

… After the seventeenth century

From the seventeenth century, the Beaujolais winegrowing area attracted the bourgeoisie from Lyon. Local dignitaries enjoyed non-taxable sales rights and used to sing the praises of Beaujolais wines in Paris.

New communication links like Briare Canal between the Loire and the Seine put the Beaujolais region on an important trading route between the south of France and Paris. Goods arriving at the port of Belleville on the Saône were transported onwards to the Loire via the Beaujolais region. Beaujolais wines could therefore be transported all the way to Paris.

Rapid growth in the winegrowing area

At the same time, Beaujolais became the wine of the Canuts, the silk workers in Lyon. Special trading conditions were negotiated with Paris and Lyon based on a north-south division: the winegrowers in the north would trade with the capital and those in the south with their neighbour, Lyon.

The Beaujolais region became the prime supplier of taverns and the famous Bouchon restaurants in Lyon, where the wine was served in jugs.

More recently in the 19th and 20th centuries

In the 19th century, the advent of the railways accelerated the expansion of Beaujolais wines. However, from 1875 the winegrowing area was reduced to a tiny proportion of what it had once been after it was decimated by phylloxera. It would be revived notably thanks in particular to research carried out by Victor Pulliat, a well-known figure in the Beaujolais region, who introduced American stock grafts that were more resistant to the American aphid.

In the 20th century, the Beaujolais region established its pedigree with the emergence of the AOC wines (from 1936 to 1988) and the first cooperative cellars.

The second half of the twentieth century saw the advent of Beaujolais Nouveau. In 1985, the third Thursday in November was decreed as the day it is released for sale.

And the story is far from over. It’s up to you to carry on writing it by trying out Beaujolais
wines !