Gamay is a light-bodied red wine similar in taste to Pinot Noir but can be enjoyed at a cheaper price. With elevated acidity and little to no tannin structure, the wine is straightforward to drink and exhibits flowery aromas and tart flavors of red fruits like cherry, raspberry, cranberry, and red currant.

Gamay is the grape variety most closely associated with Beaujolais, the wine region south of Burgundy. There, Gamay is made into a red wine that ranges from bright and fruit-forward to surprisingly age-worthy. The trick is to refer to the terminology on the label indicating where it was grown. But Gamay is also grown in other places too, most notably California, Oregon, and Australia.

No matter where it’s from, the best Gamays produce red wines of freshness and exuberant fruit, with a lift of flowers against an occasional savory bass note — excellent on their own and friendly accompaniments to a range of foods.

Where Does Gamay Wine Come From?
Gamay wine comes from anywhere that the Gamay grape variety is grown. Excellent ones are notably produced in Oregon, California, and Australia, but France is where Gamay reaches its peak of fame. In the Loire Valley, the red Touraine Gamay wines are worth checking out, as are the rosé wines produced from Gamay in Saumur and Anjou. Gamay wines from Savoie are also very good.

Gamay’s most well-known incarnation, however, is Beaujolais, where Gamay wine arguably reaches its peak. In fact, Gamay is often used interchangeably with Beaujolais, but that’s not entirely accurate: While red Beaujolais is made from Gamay, not all Gamay is from Beaujolais. Exploring the world of Gamay wine will take you through several regions of France and then across entire oceans. You’ll even find some excellent Gamay wines in Australia, New Zealand … and Canada!

Why Should You Drink Gamay Wine?
Gamay is an increasingly discussed grape variety among sommeliers and other wine professionals, due to its ability to express where it’s planted and the fact that it can be made in a drink-right-away style or one that’s more suited to aging. It’s also a fantastic antidote to the heavy, high-alcohol wines that are often trophies of personal collections and restaurant wine lists.

Gamay wines tends to be lighter in texture and tannin than many of their red counterparts, so they work as excellent pairing partners for a wide range of foods, most notably on Thanksgiving. Gamay often represents excellent value.

What Does Gamay Taste Like?
Red wines produced from Gamay tend to exhibit exuberant fruit flavors reminiscent of berries and cherries, as well as hints of flowers and, depending on where it’s from, sometimes a sense of earthiness. When it’s grown in Beaujolais, there are four levels of Gamay red wines you can buy. Beaujolais Nouveau is the most fruit-forward and uncomplicated of them, an inexpensive and cheerful red released the third Thursday in November.

Wines labeled simply “Beaujolais” are produced from grapes grown throughout the region; they tend to be fruit-driven and fairly straightforward. Beaujolais-Villages on the label indicates that the fruit was grown throughout the permitted 38 villages in the northern parts of the Beaujolais region. And Beaujolais Cru is the most age-worthy. On those, you won’t see “Beaujolais” prominently displayed at all, but instead the name of one of the 10 crus; Moulin-à-Vent, Brouilly, and Morgon are among the most frequently seen in the United States, and they tend to be more structured, complex, and cellar-worthy.

In general, serving red Gamay wine with a slight chill is a good idea: A 20-minute stint in the fridge will brighten it up even further and bring its floral and fruit notes to the fore.

 
Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named landing beaches in Normandy, Utah is on the Cotentin Peninsula, west of the mouths of the Douve and Vire rivers. Amphibious landings at Utah were undertaken by United States Army troops, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided by the United States Navy and Coast Guard as well as elements from the British, Dutch and other Allied navies.

The objective at Utah was to secure a beachhead on the Cotentin Peninsula, the location of important port facilities at Cherbourg. The amphibious assault, primarily by the US 4th Infantry Division and 70th Tank Battalion, was supported by airborne landings of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Division. The intention was to rapidly seal off the Cotentin Peninsula, prevent the Germans from reinforcing Cherbourg, and capture the port as quickly as possible. Utah, along with Sword on the eastern flank, was added to the invasion plan in December 1943. These changes doubled the frontage of the invasion and necessitated a month-long delay so that additional landing craft and personnel could be assembled in England. Allied forces attacking Utah faced two battalions of the 919th Grenadier Regiment, part of the 709th Static Infantry Division. While improvements to fortifications had been undertaken under the leadership of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel beginning in October 1943, the troops assigned to defend the area were mostly poorly equipped non-German conscripts.

D-Day at Utah began at 01:30, when the first of the airborne units arrived, tasked with securing the key crossroads at Sainte-Mère-Église and controlling the causeways through the flooded farmland behind Utah so the infantry could advance inland. While some airborne objectives were quickly met, many paratroopers landed far from their drop zones and were unable to fulfill their objectives on the first day. On the beach itself, infantry and tanks landed in four waves beginning at 06:30 and quickly secured the immediate area with minimal casualties. Meanwhile, engineers set to work clearing the area of obstacles and mines, and additional waves of reinforcements continued to arrive. At the close of D-Day, Allied forces had only captured about half of the planned area and contingents of German defenders remained, but the beachhead was secure.

The 4th Infantry Division landed 21,000 troops on Utah at the cost of only 197 casualties. Airborne troops arriving by parachute and glider numbered an additional 14,000 men, with 2,500 casualties. Around 700 men were lost in engineering units, 70th Tank Battalion, and seaborne vessels sunk by the enemy. German losses are unknown. Cherbourg was captured on June 26, but by this time the Germans had destroyed the port facilities, which were not brought back into full operation until September.