Beaujolais pushes for sparkling AOC

Beaujolais is trying to gain AOC status for its sparkling wines which, with it being mostly rosé, will make it doubly appealing thinks Inter Beaujolais.

Speaking to the drinks business, Jean Bourjade, managing director of Inter Beaujolais, said he had “high hopes” for it as a category as it was not only sparkling but most are pink as well – currently two of the hottest trends in the drinks world.

He explained that most sparkling Beaujolais was made from Gamay, was pink in colour, low in alcohol and often with some residual sugar.

“It really puts forward what Gamay is all about,” he said, “fruity, fresh and easy to drink.”

He admitted it would still be some years before the INAO approved any upgrade – “perhaps five years, maybe more maybe less” – and that current production was under one million bottles a year.

Nonetheless, he added: ‘The day we get it we’ll be able to produce millions of bottles and it would be of benefit to Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages producers most of all.”

He added that sparkling Beaujolais would not be allowed in the cru areas.

However, this is unlikely to be of any great concern to producers in Fleurie or Morgon who are currently delving into their single vineyards to find plots to vinify.

Bourjade continued that Inter Beaujolais was encouraging producers to “offer more single plot cuvees,” and that producers were “taking us up on the advice”.

Despite a quite “significant” price difference between these wines and the straightforward cru they come from – as much as 20% or more in most cases – many have found that they are the wines they “sell first and most easily.”

“It gives confidence to our growers that consumers are happy to buy these wines,” he said.

“We believe it’s the way forward.”