From hate to love of Californian gamay

Last weekend I had lunch with some friends in San Francisco and one of us brought 3 bottles of wine by Edmunds St John: Chardonnay, Roussane and Gamay. Gamay worried me immediately: Beaujolais style wine by an American - yikes - and called Bone-Jolly! Being polite (my mother did her best on me) I didn't say anything but started wondering how to avoid drinking such an abomination.

Meal went on fine until distracted by fine company and conversation I didn't notice we changed glass and... wine. Horrified I saw some Gamay in my glass. Well! I gave it a try: after all there was no chance I could ever taste such a wine in Paris, France. Let's be adventurous! I put a very careful nose over the glass: a nice aroma of ripe red fruit and a lot of freshness surprised my delicate French nose. I carefully took a sip - a very small one just in case I had to swallow it without making a horrible face - and surprise again... it tasted very good. My also delicate French palate wasn't offended at all. On the contrary, quite happy about my discovery, I took a deliberate bigger swallow and... enjoyed it!

To make a long story short, thanks to Steve Edmunds I now enjoy Californian Gamay but don't try to make me drink any French Beaujolais!

Cheers, Eve

'Glad you enjoyed it.
He also does a nice rose with gamay.
The rousanne should be aged a little; its got the guts to go awhile.
I didn't know Steve did a chardonnay?
Best, Jim

Eve; which one of my Chardonnays was it? Wink, wink.
Truth be told, I suspect it was Pinot Gris you may have had, or maybe a white Rhone blend, or a Viognier?
Glad you liked the Gamay!
cheers
Steve Edmunds

Glad to hear about your Positive experience. You should seek out more of Steve's red wines, as you would probably like those. And then stop while you're ahead and leave with a positive impression of CA wine.

An order from ESJ arrived last week and the first thing I did was open the Bone Jolly Rose (after a quick chill in the fridge). The smell was awesome, somewhere between Provence and Bugey. Strawberry and watermelon rind, crisp, dry and lively, it was perfect. Congrats, Steve and thanks to all who recommended this one.

So Eve, if you get the chance, do try the Bone Jolly Rose also.

[David M. Bueker]

And while numeric ratings are not the favorite topic of this site, our dear Mr. Edmunds received some darned good scores in the most recent issue of Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar. Get 'em while they're hot!

To make a long story short, thanks to Steve Edmunds I now enjoy Californian Gamay but don't try to make me drink any French Beaujolais!

Cheers, Eve

Beware, Eve! I think Steve is the only person in California to make "California Gamay" from the Gamay Noir variety. Most California Gamay is, to my knowledge, made from the Valdiguié variety which some say is the French Gros Auxerrois variety. They often call it Gamay Beaujolais here. As of this year in April, the wine labels must show the correct grape variety so there should be no more confusion going forward. By the way, I love Steve's Bone-Jolly and I have also found some California Gamay Beaujolais which were were enjoyable. (I hope this last admission doesn't get me drummed out of the WLDG!!) By the way, I bet the good Mr. Edmunds could make one hell of a Valdiguié, too.

Eve; which one of my Chardonnays was it? Wink, wink.

Sorry about the mix up, Steve. I didn't take any notes and my memory must be faulty - too much of your great Gamay! Sincerely I enjoyed it very much and I'm very impressed. It's always wonderful to discover a great wine and a nice winemaker.
Cheers, Eve

Beware, Eve! I think Steve is the only person in California to make "California Gamay" from the Gamay Noir variety. Most California Gamay is, to my knowledge, made from the Valdiguié variety which some say is the French Gros Auxerrois variety.

Thank you for this info, Gary. When back in California in August I'll check about a few other Gamay bottles and mostly look for Steve's wines. I'm curious about this Valdiguié variety. I never heard of it.

[David M. Bueker]

Yaniger

Who? Is that a turntable company?