Wines made from Gamay noir grapes of Eger
Discover the best wines made with Gamay noir as a single variety or as a blend of Eger.
Gamay is a Burgundian grape variety that has existed since the 14th century. For fear of competition with the pinot noir of Burgundy, gamay was finally uprooted and planted in the Beaujolais region, from Mâcon to Lyon. These siliceous and granitic soils suit it perfectly, and it gives its best here. But it is also planted all over France, such as in Lorraine, in the Loire Valley, in Bugey, in Savoie and in Auvergne. Gamay is early and very productive and needs to be limited so that quality prevails over quantity. Short winter pruning of the shoots and high density of vines per hectare are the methods that allow it to produce very fruity, fresh and greedy red wines. Gamay is also very popular in red wine futures, and produces wines from the Beaujolais region with very interesting character and ageing potential. The AOCs Crémant-de-Bourgogne, Mâcon, Anjou, Touraine, Rosé de vallée de la Loire, Côtes-d'Auvergne, Saint-Pourçain, Bugey, Gaillac, Côtes du Luberon... and many vins de pays are proud of it. Today, about 36,000 hectares of Gamay are cultivated in France, including 22,000 hectares in Beaujolais.
Eger, in northeastern Hungary, is a wine region best known for its Egri Bikavér wine, popularly known as "Bull's Blood". Although Sweet, white Tokaji remains unrivaled as Hungary's most famous wine overall, Bikavér (Bull's Blood) is surely the country's most famous red. The style – a Complex blend of several dark-skinned grapes – was first made in the late 19th Century, in Szekszard (200 kilometers/130 miles southwest of Eger). It rose to international fame in the 1970s, when the state-owned Egervin winery monopolized production of the style, and successfully promoted it on export markets.