    |
|
| In ‘Amplographie’ by Viala and Victor Vermorel (volume 3, 1902) we are taught that in Gaulish times there were vines in the South East, these were southern varieties that couldn’t ripen here further north. It was in the third century AD under the Romans that vines were really established in the region around Lyon. The very first written records of our region give us this information. However the question of the arrival of the Gamay variety in our region remains unanswered: was the variety brought here by Roman soldiers or was it already here?  THE ORIGIN OF THE GRAPE VARIETY This ancestor is described as being an early ripening variety with abundant production making it a sure relative of Gamay. As it produced more grapes than the Noirien (Pinot), grown in Burgundy, it was progressively planted from slope to slope in the Beaujolais and Mâconnais regions and as far as Burgundy where it was banned in 1395 by Philippe le Hardy. This is the first time that we really see the name ‘Gamay’ in its present form, giving it, according to some, a Burgundian origin as it is said to have been first introduced in that region in the village of Gamay in the Côte d’Or department. The geographical area that Gamay covered didn’t stop growing, up to the invasion of the phylloxera grub at the end of the 19th century. At that time Gamay made up a tenth of the vines in France (160 000 ha) from the South-East through the Centre and the Loire Valley. 
|
