I learned about French wine today (yay!).

Specifically, I learned - and sampled - wine from the Beaujolais
region, about 20 minutes north of Lyon, France.

The region is absolutely beautiful - 2000 little wineries in the area,
mostly family owned, and all the structures are made out of this gorgeous
yellow stone mined from a nearby quarry.

The Beaujolais region produces fruity and light red wines
that are immediately drinkable. Although 3% of the production includes
Chardonnay, the region is largely red.

Beaujolais attempts to create drinkable wine that lasts no longer than 5 years. This is a very different philosophy
than what I'm used to - while tasting California/Oregon wine I was
repeatedly told, "the older the better."

This goes to show the many nuances of the world of wine.

Beaujolais wine is made from Gamay grapes, and because the region is
dominated by family wineries, most of the grapes are handpicked. I met
one winemaker today, who explained that to achieve Beaujolais wine
you must hand pick the grapes and store them (with stems
attached) uncrushed in a stainless steel barrel. The little bit of
juice made from the weight of the grapes in the barrel produces CO2,
which pops the other grapes and makes more juice. After about 2
months the barrels are half-filled with juice, at which time the
grapes are pressed, strained, and the juice is bottled.

When I asked about purchasing an older vintage, I was told this is very
anti-Beaujolais. The idea is that the wine is young and fruity. This is not normally my style, but I thought it was very interesting. The wine was good, so I purchased an '07, the oldest available. I was recommended to keep it no longer than 2 years.