The Most Disloyal of Grapes

The Burgundy region of France is synonymous with Pinot Noir, but that wasn’t always the case. As early as the 11th century, Cistercian monks were cultivating Pinot Noir in Burgundy. Their wines quickly gained favor with Popes and European nobility. 
 
However, in the mid 1300s, a new red grape, Gamay, appeared on the scene and threatened Pinot Noir’s dominance. Gamay is a natural hybrid of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc, which was a popular white grape favored by peasants who liked the simple, high acid white wines it produced. 
 
Gamay shared some of Pinot Noir’s characteristics (like body, acidity, tannins and red berry flavors) but lacked Pinot Noir’s complexity and silky elegance. Gamay also turned out to be more vigorous and productive than Pinot Noir. It ripened earlier, was easier to cultivate, and produced three times more wine per acre. 
 
This last part was critical in Gamay’s ascent because the other naturally occurring event that stuck Burgundy in the mid-to-late 1300s was the Black Death, which killed roughly half the population. Gamay became an ideal choice for producers struggling with manpower shortages and economic hardships. 
 
Plantings of Gamay soared, and Gamay wines became plentiful even though they were seen as coarse and bitter.  Gamay grapes were often blended into wines labeled as Burgundy, which led to complaints from merchants and consumers who felt deceived. By the late 1300s, Burgundy’s reputation and Pinot Noir’s prominence were threatened. 
 
Enter Philippe le Hardi, Duke of Burgundy, AKA Philip the Bold, a name he acquired as a result of the bravery he exhibited at the age of 14 while fighting the British at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 alongside his father, the King of France. In addition to soldier and statesman, Philip the Bold was a noted patron of winemaking, especially Pinot Noir. His concern over Gamay’s threat to Pinot Noir grew until 1395 when, in his role as Duke of Burgundy, he issued the Ducal 
 
Ordinance, which banned Gamay from Burgandy, calling it “a very bad and disloyal variety.” His decree forced growers to pull out Gamay vines across the region, set quality standards for vineyard practices designed to protect the reputation and quality of Burgundy wines, and laid the governing framework for modern wine appellations across France. Bold indeed. 

Gamay didn’t have to go far to find a new home though, it migrated slightly south to the region known today as Beaujolais where it has become celebrated for its vibrant acidity and fruit-forward flavors of cherry, strawberry, and violet.