My First Trip to Beaujolais

I would take the train from Lyon to her for the day. Kellee, a tall, long legged, dark haired beauty with the warmest smile along with the obviously handsome Aurelien greeted me at the station and off we went. Three days later I hadn’t left and had fallen madly in love with Beaujolais.

Our First stop was Robert Perroud. A long time winemaker and I knew his wines intimately as I had been serving his wine at Le Pigeon for years. I had discussed the nuances of Gamay Noir, paired it with the complicatedly “French” dishes created by Gabe and his team and sold it well as it as a steal of deal, as most Beaujolais wines are. Excited to meet my first French winemaker in his domaine I thought surely he would have on an ascot and be smoking from a polished wooden pipe. Alas, I was greeted by Robert, in cut off jean shorts, a wine splattered t-shirt, rain boots and dirty hands. He is a farmer. After our greetings and a walk through the winery I am so excited to learn more from the winemaker himself. I finally got the courage up to ask a few questions in my terrible French, when asked what he would pair his wine with he answered simply and looking right at me, “Good people.” It was a game changer. It turned my whole world of wine upside down. What had I been selling? Or rather why? Wine is so subjective and he’s right. It really matters the company you keep.

You could have the best bottle of champagne and shitty company, you most likely won’t remember that bottle. But a two buck chuck drank on the banks of the canal St. Martin with that handsome Greek boy you met? Yeah... I’ll always remember that bottle (and that boy).