Gamay wine Red Wine Variety

Gamay is a versatile red wine grape variety best known for its role in Beaujolais, but it also plays many other roles in winemaking in other regions of France and elsewhere.

A number of wineries are using this variety successfully to make wine in Australia.

The Beaujolais region is south of the main vineyards of Burgundy along the Soane river to the north of Lyon.

Outside of the Beaujolais region this variety makes spicy reds and roses in the lower Loire Valley. In Burgundy, Gamay plays second fiddle to Pinot Noir as a component in lesser wines. In Switzerland it plays a similar role where it is blended with Pinot Noir to produce a red wine known as Dole.

The fashion for full bodied wines a-la-Parker has left lighter styled wines in a shadow. Although in recent years more wine consumers are looking for something other than the high alcohol, high tannin oaked styles that were popular at the turn of this century.

Many wine varieties get a bad reputation because of one particular style.  In Gamay's case this is Beaujolais Nouveau - pre reality TV show abomination like a cross between running with the bulls and Master chef.

This is a pity because Gamay wines can be excellent, and not all are as unidimensional as cheap Beaujolais Nouveau. The serious wines made in the various Beaujolais region, and there are quite a few medium bodied and age-worthy wines 

Just as every meal does not have to be a huge piece of steak, every wine you drink does not have to be a super heavyweight either. Wines from this variety can be full flavoured, don't be fooled by their lighter colour and body.

Karen MacNeil is Author of the Wine Bible a fabulous guide available from Book Depository

Gamay in Australia

This early ripening variety is suitable in cooler regions, but its wide distribution in Australian wine regions suggests that it is a versatile variety.

You will find a few plantings in Australia across a broad range of climates, from Southern Tasmania, the Mornington Peninsula, North Eastern Victoria, the Yarra Valley, Hunter Valley and the Granite Belt in Queensland.

Sorrenberg Gamay is widely regarded as the best example of this variety in Australia

• Adina Vineyard Hunter Valley
• Anvers Adelaide Hills
• Arlo Vintners Rutherglen
• Artwine Adelaide Hills
• Aylesbury Estate Geographe
• Ballabourneen Wines Hunter Valley
• Bande Apart King Valley
• Barratt Wines Adelaide Hills
• Bass Phillip Gippsland
• Brackenwood Adelaide Hills
• Brave Goose Vineyard Goulburn Valley
• By Farr Geelong
• Catlin Wines Adelaide Hills
• Cofield Wines Rutherglen
• Coulter Wines Adelaide Hills
• Darling Estate King Valley
• De Bortoli Riverina
• Domenica Beechworth
• Elan Vineyard Mornington Peninsula
• Eldridge Estate Mornington Peninsula
• Empire of Dirt Wines Geelong
• Five Acres Adelaide Hills
• Gentle Folk Adelaide Hills
• Golding Adelaide Hills
• Granite Hills Macedon Ranges
• Happs Margaret River
• Innocent Bystander Yarra Valley
• Johanson Tumbarumba
• John Gehrig Wines King Valley
• Lightfoot Gippsland
• Linear Adelaide Hills
• Lingo Adelaide Hills
• Little Bridge Canberra
• Lyons Will Estate Macedon Ranges
• Mansfield Wines Mudgee
• Marq Margaret River
• Max and Me Eden Valley
• Mayer Yarra Valley
• Meadowbank WInes Southern Tasmania
• Ministry of Clouds McLaren Vale
• Moppity Vineyards (and Cato) Hilltops
• Mount Burrumboot Estate Heathcote
• Ochota Barrels Adelaide Hills
• Paul Nelson Wines Denmark
• Pennyweight Winery Beechworth
• Peppergreen Estate Southern Highlands
• Petrichor Wines Southern Tasmania
• Pfeiffer Wines Rutherglen
• Prancing Horse Estate Mornington Peninsula
• Punt Road Wines Yarra Valley
• Pyren Vineyard Pyrenees
• Quid Pro Quo Hunter Valley
• Ravensworth Wines Canberra
• Red Earth Estate Western Plains
• Redheads Barossa Valley
• Rising Yarra Valley
• Rowsley Fault Vineyards Geelong
• Sapling Yard Canberra
• Scarpantoni Estate McLaren Vale
• See Saw Wines Orange
• Sentio Beechworth
• Sinapius Northern Tasmania
• Sorrenberg Beechworth
• Swingingbridge Orange
• Terrason King Valley
• The Lane Vineyard Adelaide Hills
• Thick as Theives Yarra Valley
• Timo Mayer Yarra Valley
• Turon Wines Adelaide Hills
• Two Bud Spur Southern Tasmania
• Vella Wines Adelaide Hills
• Vinden Estate Hunter Valley
• Worlds Apart Adelaide Hills
• XO Wine Co Adelaide Hills

Gamay wine and Food

I suggest that you pair Gamay and lighter red wine styles with foods such as chicken, turkey or veal. You could also try them at the start of the meal with lighter hors d'oeuvre, or antipasto.

The high acidity of many Gamay wines make them suitable as accompaniments to Foie gras or rich pates. You can also successfully pair these wines with Asian cuisines.

The versatility of Gamay makes it an ideal wine to take on a picnic. Serve it cool with a variety of cold cuts and salads.