A Conversation with author Rudolph Chleminski
Recently, Corksavvy spoke with Rudolph Chleminski, author of "I'll Drink to That: Beaujolais and the French Peasant Who Made it the World's Most Popular Wine" (Gotham Books, October 2007) about why this once-obscure wine is now overwhelmingly popular, and why you should drink it not only during autumn but year-round.
Is Beaujolais really the world's most popular wine?
For universal name recognition, there’s nothing to touch it except Champagne, but that’s a special case – Champagne is more a luxury item and symbol of celebration than a wine for drinking day to day with meals. And its price removes it from any kind of category that you could call popular, doesn’t it? Beaujolais is totally different. It’s not expensive, it goes with almost any kind of food at any occasion, it’s delicious and easy to drink, and it doesn’t come burdened with an aristocratic pedigree that makes you feel like you’re taking an exam every time you lift a glass. And that name is absolute magic – there’s not a language in the world where those three easy syllables bo-jo-lay don’t signify pleasure and good times.
But there are dozens of better, bigger and more exotic wines. Why write about the one everybody knows?
I hear that reaction fairly often. Someone accused me a while ago of writing about a Ford instead of a Ferrari. Well, okay, but the point is that not everyone does know Beaujolais. They think they do, but there’s a lot more to it than a lot of people realize. Sure, there are plenty of wines around that are rarer and more expensive – a lot more expensive – but I have trouble with that word “better.” Judging wine is subjective, like judging beauty. What’s the prettiest flower? Who’s the most beautiful woman? What’s the best song? There’s no answer to questions like that. I wrote about the Beaujolais because I like the wine and I like the people who make it. They’re different from other winemakers. Almost without exception they’re peasant smallholders who tend plots of vines that have been in the family for generations. You don’t find wine millionaires in the Beaujolais the way you do in Bordeaux or Burgundy – or California, for that matter. The Beaujolais area is a very down-home place. And it’s also, in my opinion, the most beautiful wine region anywhere in the world.
What’s the story with Beaujolais Nouveau? How does that fit into the picture?
Beaujolais Nouveau is a problem, frankly, because it’s a victim of its success. Or, rather, the other Beaujolais wines are victims of its success. Beaujolais Nouveau is the new wine of the year, released for sale very early, only two months or so after harvest. This is a rare and very special phenomenon in the world of wine, pretty much unique to the gamay. It just so happens that this grape can be vinified into a pleasant, easy drinking little wine very young. Nouveau made a big splash because it became fashionable to drink it around Thanksgiving time, but the fad made so much noise that people tended to forget that Beaujolais isn’t just one wine, but 13 different ones. Generic Beaujolais is the least expensive, then, going up in price and quality, there’s Beaujolais-Villages and above that the 10 crus (growths): Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly. Chénas, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Juliénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Morgon, Régnie and Saint-Amour. Next to all that, there’s Beaujolais Nouveau, the new wine, like a sideshow to all the others. I’m almost tempted to say a gimmick. Trouble is the ritual of tasting the new wine in November led a lot of people to think of Beaujolais as a wine to drink just once a year. That’s a big mistake that distributors and retailers have to fight against. And it’s a shame for the public, too, because by neglecting the other 12 Beaujolais, wine enthusiasts are depriving themselves of some of the best bargains in French wines and some of the nicest drinking experiences that they can find anywhere.
What would you say to recommend Beaujolais to someone who has never tried it?
To a neophyte who has never tasted Beaujolais, I would say what the Pope said to the massed crowd at Gdansk when he kick-started the fall of communism: "Do not be afraid." Beaujolais is such a direct, amiable and unhypocritical wine that you will never have to fear sneaky subtexts, moods or complications that will cause you to regret the encounter. What you get with the first whiff is an immediate rush of fruit and flower that is the signature of the gamay grape, and you won't be held to a critical exam of its hidden nuances, to pull a long face or to enumerate its component parts. It is fun and it is good! I am sure that if they had Beaujolais in Gdansk in the eighties, communism would have fallen five years earlier.
What are some of your favorite bottles?
A 2005 Moulin-a-Vent Prestige by Georges Duboeuf a 2003 Morgon from Louis Jadot. Jadot also makes a startlingly good Beaujolais-Villages. And if you want a good tip for Thanksgiving, Duboeuf's Beaujolais Nouveau will go with absolutely everything served at the big feast. Even if that makes wine snobs sore. (They want you to drink Chateau Petrus, but that will run you $3,000 a bottle.)
Are there any classic or wonderful food pairings that you recommend with Beaujolais?
Beaujolais is the best picnic wine in the world. Any informal meal, any sandwich, any cold meats or sausages will find a perfect companion with it. And, naturally all of the great French country classics like Boeuf Bourguignon, coq au vin or just good old roast chicken. And since we're speaking of classics, Beaujolais is better than any other wine in the world with a hot dog or a burger. You might call this its mission civilisatrice: Bring Beaujolais to fast food!
