An Adventure in Beaujolais

A couple of weeks ago David picked up a flyer here in Lyon advertising a ‘Foire aux Vins’ in Belleville, a small town in Beaujolais. Since we had an enjoyable time at the Foire aux Vins in Ampuis in January, and we are always looking for an excuse to visit another charming town, David thought it would be great to check it out. Anna was not so sure, as we have no storage here for cases of wine, and we can’t really take more than a couple of bottles back to the US, plus she figured one wine market was going to be pretty much like the others. David said that if so, we wouldn’t spend much time there, and would use our time to explore the countryside.



So Saturday, off we went to Belleville, arriving in town about 11:20. Mapquest’s information on the location of the Foire, described as at the Lycee Bel-Air, was erroneous, so we checked in at the local tourist office. The woman there gave us directions, about 2-3miles to the west of town. Arriving at the site, we found an imposing chateau and walked to the entrance from the parking area.

Chateau de Bel-Air

Entrance to Cellar

Paying our 3-Euro fee [very reasonable, we thought], we went downstairs to a cellar area. There we found the standard tasting tables set up, but surprisingly they were all manned by very young men and women, and represented most of the major wine regions of France. As we sampled our first wines, one of the people at the booth hurried away, bringing back a distinguished-looking gentleman who asked in very good English, if we were English. We replied that we were Americans; that produced a surprised reaction, as it seemed that the affair was the annual tasting put on by the students at the various wine-making schools around France where the next generation of French winemakers are being trained. It also seemed that we were now the objects of a good deal of interest on the part of students and faculty as they generally do not get foreigners to these events. The gentleman, who turned out to be a professor at the school, explained how the school worked, that students receive classroom instruction plus hands-on work in all phases of the wine business, from vineyards to marketing the product.


As we circulated around the cellar, sampling first whites, then reds, we were amazed at how good some of the wines were. It was apparent even to our somewhat inexperienced palettes that some serious work was being done by the students. [More about French wines in general in a future discussion.] We were also engaged in a lengthy discussion about the school and the wines from similar schools around France by a woman professor. Throughout our conversations with students and faculty members, we were struck by the level of engagement and courtesy shown to a couple of strangers by all concerned.

After making our purchases, [very reasonably priced wines for the quality], we headed back to Belleville for a late lunch and some sight-seeing. We stopped at a small bistro, the Café de la Tour, where we had a very good lunch of boeuf bourguignon with a carafe of Morgon, one of the 10 Beaujolais crus.

Cafe de la Tour

Eglise Notre-Dame

After lunch, we walked over to see the 12th century church, l’Eglise Notre-Dame. Construction began in 1168 and was completed in only 11 years. Modest in comparison to some of the great cathedrals of Europe, it is still an impressive structure.

Notre-Dame Interior