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Wine region

Beaujolais

Beaujolais is a wine region in France, home to 342 wineries, producing red, rose, white wines, known for Gamay.

Beaujolais at a glance: predominantly red; known for Gamay; wines range from VdF to AOP.
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Beaujolais's 342 wineries produce predominantly red wine; Chardonnay is the most common single-grape bottling; wines carry AOC, AOP, VdF designation.

About the Beaujolais region

    Location
    Quincié-en-Beaujolais is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.
    Climate
    The shield formed by the ‘Monts du Beaujolais’ to the west gives the geographical area light and rainfall conditions that are particularly favourable to the ripeness, concentration and good health of the grapes.
    Soils
    Beaujolais has two main soil zones: acidic sandy or clay soils over ancient northern formations, and generally deeper, more clay-rich soils over southern limestone formations.

Region facts sourced from Official Journal of the European Union, Beaujolais (EUGI00000002924), Official Journal C 473, 13.12.2022, retrieved 2026-07-11. (Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of Commission documents), Official Journal of the European Union, Beaujolais (EUGI00000002924), retrieved 2026-07-12. (Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of Commission documents), Wikipedia contributors, "Quincié-en-Beaujolais", Wikipedia, revision 1269919472, retrieved 2026-07-11. (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International).

Characteristic grapes

Beaujolais is best known for Gamay. The most-bottled single-varietal wines here are Chardonnay, Gamay. Beaujolais's signature grapes often go into blends, so single-grape bottlings skew toward other varieties.

Most common single-grape wines

When Beaujolais wines are made from a single grape (rather than a blend), these are the most common:

Wine profile

Beaujolais is predominantly a red-wine region (about 92% of its wines) — expect red wines, often from grapes like Gamay.

1,684 distinct Beaujolais wines tracked, spanning the colours and styles below.

  • Red1,555 · 92%
  • White91 · 5%
  • Rose37 · 2%

Types: Still.

Representative Beaujolais wines

Selected from stable product-to-region relationships for diversity — not a claim that these are the region's best wines.

  • Isabelle & Bruno Perraud — Saint-Amour
  • Famille Girin — Seduction de Gamay Noir
  • Stephane Aviron — Cote du Py Vieilles Vignes
  • Jean Foillard — Morgon
  • Anthony Thevenet — Chenas
  • Michel Guignier — Morgon
  • Roches Bleues — La Baraquee
  • Domaine Les Capreoles — Axiome Chardonnay

Sub-regions & appellations

Within Beaujolais, these appellationsA legally-defined smaller growing area within a wine region, often with its own grapes and rules. are smaller growing areas, often with their own character:

  • Fleurie
  • Morgon
  • Beaujolais-Villages
  • Moulin-a-Vent
  • Brouilly
  • Julienas
  • Cote de Brouilly
  • Chenas
  • Chiroubles
  • Saint-Amour
  • Regnie

Quality designations

Wines here span quality tiers from everyday VdF to the strictly-controlled AOP — you'll find both accessible and prestige bottles.

  • AOCFrance's protected-origin designation (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) — controls where and how a wine is made.
  • AOPThe EU protected-origin label (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) — the modern equivalent of AOC.
  • VdFVin de France — the entry-level French category, with the fewest restrictions.

France wine designations

AOC
AOC is the French national controlled-origin recognition for a product whose production stages are carried out using recognised know-how within the same geographical area, giving the product its characteristics.
AOP
An AOP identifies a product whose production stages take place using recognised know-how within the same geographical area, which gives the product its characteristics.
IGP
An IGP identifies a product whose quality, reputation or other characteristics are linked to its geographical origin.
PDO
PDO is the European Union protected designation of origin category.
VdF
Vin de France is the French country-of-origin wording used for wine in the category without a protected geographical indication.

Classifications

2eme Cru Classe
Within the 1855 Sauternes and Barsac classification, 2ème Cru Classé is the third of three sweet-white-wine levels.
3eme Cru Classe
Within the 1855 Bordeaux red-wine classification, 3ème Cru Classé denotes the third of five ranked levels.
4eme Cru Classe
Within the 1855 Bordeaux red-wine classification, 4ème Cru Classé denotes the fourth of five ranked levels.
5eme Cru Classe
Within the 1855 Bordeaux red-wine classification, 5ème Cru Classé denotes the fifth of five ranked levels.
Cru Classe
In the Graves classification, Cru Classé denotes an estate authorised to use the title Grand Cru Classé de Graves; all current classified estates are in Pessac-Léognan.
Grand Cru
In Burgundy, Grand Cru is an AOC category applied to 33 appellations identified by individual Climat names.
Grand Cru Classe
In the current Saint-Émilion classification, Grand Cru Classé is a classified-estate level for red wines of Saint-Émilion; the 2022 edition lists 71 estates at this level.
Premier Cru
In Burgundy, Premier Cru identifies precisely defined individual plots, known as Climats, within certain Village appellations.
Premier Cru Classe
Within the 1855 Sauternes and Barsac classification, Premier Cru Classé is the middle of three sweet-white-wine levels.
Premier Cru Superieur
Within the 1855 Sauternes and Barsac classification, Premier Cru Supérieur is the highest of three sweet-white-wine levels.
Premier Grand Cru Classe A
In the current Saint-Émilion classification, Premier Grand Cru Classé A is the distinguished A level within the Premier Grand Cru Classé category; the 2022 edition lists two estates.
Understanding the wine data
Designation
The protected-origin or administrative category associated with the wine, interpreted using country-aware rules. The same abbreviation can mean different things in different countries, so we only show the meaning approved for that country.
Classification
An additional quality, hierarchy, vineyard, site, ageing or producer classification where supplied. Its meaning varies by country — it is not a universal quality score.
How this ranking is built

Producers are included when WhatDrink has a canonical producer-to-region relationship supported by the catalogue data. Display order may use represented wine count and relationship confidence to provide useful coverage; it is not a ranking of winery quality, prestige, production volume or critical acclaim.

Representative wines are selected from products with a stable relationship to this region, with preference for clear producer identity and a useful spread of producers, wine styles and designations. Inclusion is not an editorial score and does not mean these are the region’s best wines.

Explore Beaujolais

Ways to browse Beaujolais — each count is the size of that specific collection (a subset of the 1,684 wines tracked above):

  • Red Beaujolais (165)
  • White Beaujolais (54)

How to choose a good Beaujolais wine

For everyday drinking, VdF bottles are the accessible choice; for something special, AOP signals the region's most tightly-controlled, prestige wines.

FAQs

Where is Beaujolais?
Quincié-en-Beaujolais is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France .
Which grapes are associated with Beaujolais?
Beaujolais is represented in the WhatDrink region dataset by Gamay. Grape coverage reflects the products currently linked to the region and is not a complete legal planting register.
What do the designation terms on Beaujolais wines mean?
AOC: AOC is the French national controlled-origin recognition for a product whose production stages are carried out using recognised know-how within the same geographical area, giving the product its characteristics. AOP: An AOP identifies a product whose production stages take place using recognised know-how within the same geographical area, which gives the product its characteristics. VdF: Vin de France is the French country-of-origin wording used for wine in the category without a protected geographical indication. These terms describe geographical or regulatory categories; they do not by themselves guarantee that one producer or bottle is better than another.
How are wineries and producers selected for Beaujolais?
Producers are included when WhatDrink has a canonical producer-to-region relationship supported by the catalogue data. Display order may use represented wine count and relationship confidence to provide useful coverage; it is not a ranking of winery quality, prestige, production volume or critical acclaim.
How are representative Beaujolais wines selected?
Representative wines are selected from products with a stable relationship to this region, with preference for clear producer identity and a useful spread of producers, wine styles and designations. Inclusion is not an editorial score and does not mean these are the region’s best wines.
How much wine data does WhatDrink have for Beaujolais?
The current regional catalogue contains 1684 linked wines from 342 linked producers. Counts describe WhatDrink catalogue coverage and may change as source data is refreshed.

Regional data is aggregated from wine directory and product-catalogue sources; grape and style associations reflect characteristic varieties and may vary by producer and vintage.