Gamay be an early ripening Californian clone of Pinot noir. Despite similar names the grapes "Gamay du Rhône" and "Gamay St-Laurent" are not the Beaujolais grape either but rather the southwestern France grape Abouriou. In 1929, Gamay was crossed with the table grape Seidentraube (also known as "Luglienga bianca") to produce the white wine grape Regner. Gamay Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the
Gamay fruit expressions reminiscent of bright crushed strawberries and raspberries, as well as deep floral notes of lilac and violets. Gamay-based wines are typically light bodied and fruity. Wines meant to be drunk after some modest aging tend to have more body and are produced by whole-berry maceration. The latter are produced mostly in the designated 'Cru Beaujolais' areas where the wines typically have the flavor of sour cherries, black pepper, and dried berry, as well as fresh-cut stone and chalk. In addition to being well suited to the terroir of Beaujolais, Gamay is grown extensively in the Loire Valley around