Fêtes des Crus happens every year, in the spring, while vines are starting to bloom and the weather calls us outside. Every year, the ten crus of Beaujolais – for memo: Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Régnié, Chiroubles, Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin à Vent, Chenas, Julienas and Saint Amour – are celebrated and the winemakers from one of the crus are taking the lead in organizing the party. Last year was Fleurie, this year  is Morgon, next year will be Brouilly.

A perfect occasion to re-discover the great crus of Beaujolais, with 2 days of winetastings (where usually aged wines are honored !), activities for all, street music and shows, craft exhibitions, etc.

Don’t miss this major local party and join us on April 28 and 29!

Chateau de Fontcrenne, Villie-Morgon, pic by JP Galichon

Official video announcing 2012 Fêtes des Crus

Official Facebook Page to get the latest news

Official Website, where you can find the general program and most of all, buy the hats “crus Morgon”: a “must” to look smart this summer!

Last year party was in Fleurie, as Miss Vicky Wine hometown, she drew together with all her friends, this is a video of one of her guest posted on MyGrapeEscape.

Somewhere around Chenas:Gamay vine hibernating:Morgon vineyards facing the Soane river valley:St Joseph village and Beaujolais mounts:Morgon vineyards and sun shines:Morgon, Cote du Py:

And Beaujolais is no exception. 2011 seems to be the year of superlative: after an amazing harvest, Beaujolais is just going through an amazing fall! Sun sun and sun again, a true Indian summer to slowly golden waves of vineyards, and offer some breathtaking images.

Here are some of my favorites – you can access the full album on Facebook here.

Under the red light, a vine leaf taking a sun bath:Mont Brouilly emerging from the misty dusk:

Some vineyards turing red more slowly…and YES is you squint you will see the Mont Blanc itself in the background!!!:

Yes yes yes: club “Vertige” in Gleizé-en-Beaujolais was ranked first on the French scene this year. Bravo! Let’s drink some wine to celebrate! That’s exactly what club Vertige did, by organizing for the occasion a “vertical” wine tasting. A “vertical” is meant to go back in time with wine and taste different vintages.

On the table, a very tempting wine selection: mainly Moulin a Vent and Beaujolais:
The event was presented by Jean-Luc Berger, inspiring French wine connaisseur:
A dream team ready to rock their glasses! Congrats’
This distinction is also a nice way to remember all the gorgeous sites to rock climb in Beaujolais, in particular the Solutré and Vergisson rocks:
© Bourgogne Photo.

If you want to organize a wine and rock climbing journey in Beaujolais, contact Back to Beaujolais at pauline@backtobeaujolais.com.

Now is the time of year to cook SAUCISSON au GENE!

This dish is typical from the Beaujolais and emerged from a combination of the region’s wine making tradition and the wonderful saucisse of Lyon.

The recipe is as simple as opening a blottle of wine. And it goes in 5 steps:

1. Go find some Gène (the remains of grape skin after the berries have been pressed)
2. Go to Bobosse in St Jean d’Ardières, and buy the best Saucisse à cuire.
3.Plunge the Saucisse into a pan full of Gène and cook for one hour (don’t forget to pour wine into it regularly):
4. Take the Saucisse out, cut it and place it on the table in front of your amazed guests:
5. EAT this delicious wine perfumed and completely fat free SAUCISSE! And take your time…because it only happens once a year! (unless you freeze some gene, but it is not quite the same..)

To see more pictures: go to Back to Beaujolais Facebook page HERE

]]> http://backtobeaujolais.com/blog/2011/10/06/pure-beaujolais-cuisine/feed/ 0 http://backtobeaujolais.com/blog/2011/09/26/grand-opening-of-chateau-de-bellevue/ http://backtobeaujolais.com/blog/2011/09/26/grand-opening-of-chateau-de-bellevue/#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 09:00:47 +0000 Bruce http://backtobeaujolais.com/?p=415 On Friday, September 23^rd a lucky few attended the grand opening of the Chateau de Bellevue in Villié-Morgon which has been entirely renovated by the Maison Loron to house a winery, a 5 room bed & breakfast, a ‘gite’, a reception hall and a conference center.

The event was held in the terrace overlooking the beautiful garden which is a recognized historical site for the diversity of its plants and trees. The gardens look out to one the Beaujolais’s most beautiful views, no wonder it is called the Chateau de Bellevue (translation: beautiful view!).

Back to Beaujolais – wine tours, has already started sending clients to this new venue and been getting great feedback. The five rooms of the bed & breakfast each have a theme such as Zen or British and are very stylishly renovated to bring modern luxury and comfort while integrating the old castle’s architectural features.

More information on: http://www.chateau-bellevue.fr/

Book your Beaujolais visit with Back to Beaujolais – wine tours, contact pauline@backtobeaujolais.com

For example, in Beaujolais, on a small piece of land, we have 12 different appellations, because there are 12 different kind of soils and as such 12 different kind of wines! Each soil, by its typical combination of minerals, gives something special to the wine. And even under one appellation, you can differentiate specific “climats”, based on the orientation of the parcels, its exposition to the sun, or the more specific composition of its soil. For instance for the cru Morgon, there are 6 different climats¹. This of course can give some complicated labels:

Name of the Producer
Vintage
Name of the Appelation
Name of the Climat.

In Beaujolais, we have one thing that is always permanent in our wines: the cepage or grape varietal. About 97% of wines produced in Beaujolais are made from the Gamay grape. And about 60% of the Gamay produced around the world is planted in Beaujolais region. So would this be a way to simplify our label, to put the focus on Gamay, as most new world wines do? The question is open…
¹ Les Charmes, Corcelette, Cote de Py, Douby, Grand Cras et les Micouds.

The major cause seems to be -according to a study – the lack of wine knowledge and understanding. It is true that love for wine needs to mature through a thorough initiation to the precious beverage and its traditions, which is what Back to Beaujolais is all about! Contact us urgently at pauline@backtobeaujolais.com to book your tour and play your part in the preservation of our national treasure :)

PS: I know at least two kids in the Beaujolais who won’t feel clueless in front of a bottle

Seen on Chateau des Jacques Facebook page.