Wine of the Week! 07/08/24

Uva Non Grata

Normally $15.99 / Now on Sale for $12.96
100% Gamay (Beaujolais Vdf)

Believe it or not, in 1395 Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, outlawed the Gamay grape — straight up banned it! He called it a “very bad and very disloyal grape” that was ruining the reputation of Burgundy wine. Maybe his concern was genuine. (Maybe it was influenced by the fact that he, personally, owned several hectares of Pinot Noir vines.) Fortunately, vignerons were also very bad and very disloyal and would hide their Gamay vines among their Pinot Noir. Hence the tongue-in-cheek name of this wine which translates roughly to “the grape we are not grateful for.”

The Uva Non Grata is a project of Boutinot France, an importer that began in 1980 and now produces wines with grapes both from small growers and from their own vineyards. The unnamed winemakers of this light-bodied, chillable red are located in the Chiroubles region of Beaujolais. For this wine, they subject their Gamay grapes to carbonic maceration (as is traditional for that region), keeping the red raspberry and plum notes front and center where we like them.

Juicy and light enough for the summer, the Uva Non Grata is savory enough for cooler months and so flexible that it can serve as a one-bottle wine list.