Sure, you know, the only French wine available in small liquor shops in Perth’s outer suburbs, located on the bottom of the shelf and covered in dust? Well that’s my first memory of Beaujolais wine. Before Mr Murphy arrived on the scene!

I booked a Beaujolais wine tour as I enjoy the wine and wanted to learn more about it in the region of its creation. It didn’t disappoint!

Our group of eight was picked up by the lovely guide Justine from Place Bellecour and we set off north for about an hours drive into Beaujolais country. On the way we learnt about the different soils or ‘terroirs’ (limestone and granite) and the grape varieties that thrive in each.

Our first stop was a small winery in Fleurie that once included a castle (it was sold off to keep the vineyard running). The cave cellar was a naturally chill 15 degrees. We tried five wines; one white and five red building up in complexity and boldness. I liked all of them! 😄

Next we drove to Morgon and met the vintner, who showed us the concrete and stainless steel vats the vineyard uses instead of oak. He explained the unique process that uses gravity and presses rather than maceration to extract the juice from the grapes. We then tried another seven wines, again with just one white (a Viognier) and six reds, mainly made from Gamay grapes.

By this point we were all a bit merry and were late heading back to Lyon. Maybe it was the wine but the countryside was looking especially pretty!

I stopped for a Lyonnais meal on the way home as it was my last night in the city. The next day I’m off to Djion and the start of my Quintessential Burgandy tour.