The local cheeses of Beaujolais with the local wines that suit them, and why they work.
The cheeses of Beaujolais with the wines made beside them. Pairings marked as a local tradition are the ones a regional source names; the rest are our own picks, and say so.
French Wikipedia quotes the Inventaire du patrimoine culinaire de la France: in Lyon's bouchons the pot sat at the corner of the bar and was spread on toasted bread, accompanied by a beaujolais. A plain Gamay red suits its sharpness.
Bottles to try:
The Observatoire des produits du terroir lists Beaujolais AOC and Coteaux-du-Lyonnais among the reds for it. The cool, herby fromage blanc wants a fresh, fruity Gamay with modest tannin that does not fight the vinegar.
Bottles to try:
The consortium describes the soft Saint-Marcellin as creamy, with dried fruit, honey and cream notes. Fleurie, a Gamay cru with bright acidity and modest tannin, refreshes the palate between bites and leaves the cream alone.
Bottles to try:
French Wikipedia suggests a white wine, Chardonnay, with it. Beaujolais Blanc is Chardonnay, and a fresh, high-acid bottle answers the shallot, herbs and vinegar of the dish.
Bottles to try:
Arôme de Lyon is a soft disc with slightly winey notes under a pomace coat. Moulin-à-Vent, a structured Gamay cru, has the tannin and acidity to stand beside that rind and the creamy paste.
Bottles to try:
The Observatoire des produits du terroir names Chénas among the reds for fromage fort. A Beaujolais cru with some structure is a fair match for a very strong, bitter spread on toast.
Bottles to try:
A creamy, lightly salted cow's milk cheese under a white bloom, on the Lyon cheese board according to French Wikipedia. Beaujolais Blanc, a fresh Chardonnay with high acidity, cuts the richness of the melting paste.
Bottles to try:
Saint-Félicien is soft, rich and creamy under a white rind. Morgon, a Gamay cru with fresh acidity and some structure, gives the cream something to push against, so the pairing stays fresh rather than heavy.
Bottles to try:
The Observatoire des produits du terroir pairs Arôme de Lyon with whites such as Condrieu or Saint-Joseph and lighter reds such as Beaujolais. A fruity Beaujolais-Villages red echoes the winey notes of its pomace-coated rind.
Bottles to try:
Côte de Brouilly is a Gamay cru from the slopes of Mont Brouilly, with high acidity and medium to firm tannin. A ripe, creamy Saint-Marcellin softens that grip, and the wine's acidity keeps the cheese's richness fresh.
Bottles to try:
Juliénas is a Gamay cru with high acidity and medium tannin, firm enough for an aged goat cheese. Charolais has a firm, smooth paste with hay, hazelnut and butter notes that the wine frames rather than covers.
Bottles to try:
INAO's own match is the white wine of the neighbouring Condrieu AOP, which is not a Beaujolais wine. For a Beaujolais glass, a crisp, high-acid Beaujolais Blanc suits the hazelnut and whey notes of a small goat's cheese.
Bottles to try:
Chiroubles is a light, fresh Gamay cru with high acidity and little tannin. It suits the cool, lightly sharp fromage blanc with shallot and herbs, and its fruit does not fight the vinegar.
Bottles to try:
Régnié is a fresh Gamay cru with high acidity and light to medium body. Against a creamy Saint-Marcellin with its dried fruit and honey notes, it brings freshness instead of weight.
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The Burgundy wine board's top pick for Charolais is Viré-Clessé, a white from outside Beaujolais. A fruity Brouilly, a Gamay cru, also suits the firm, creamy goat paste: its acidity and red fruit lift the hay and hazelnut notes.
Bottles to try:
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No. The Observatoire des produits du terroir says it is not an offal but a specialty based on fromage blanc; the name comes from the canuts, the Lyon silk workers, for whom it was an important food.
Fromage blanc beaten with a spatula, then finely chopped shallots, parsley, chervil and chives, oil, vinegar, wine, salt and pepper, and whipped cream folded in, per the Observatoire's recipe. French Wikipedia says fresh goat's cheese can also go in.
Claqueret and tomme daubée, according to French Wikipedia, which says claqueret comes from beating (claquer) the cheese and that the dish derives from the older Lyon sarasson.
The Observatoire lists Beaujolais AOC and Coteaux-du-Lyonnais reds. French Wikipedia's article on Lyon cuisine says the bouchons serve their specialities, cervelle de canut among them, with a glass of beaujolais or côtes-du-rhône. The French Wikipedia article on cervelle de canut itself suggests a white wine, Chardonnay.
Toasted bread, according to French Wikipedia; the Observatoire des produits du terroir adds potatoes and other root vegetables and warm buckwheat waffles.
French Wikipedia quotes the Inventaire du patrimoine culinaire de la France, Rhône-Alpes: in Lyon's bouchons the pot sat at the corner of the bar and was spread on toasted bread, accompanied by a beaujolais. The Observatoire lists Chénas among the reds.
No. It has no protected name, and French Wikipedia says the ingredients seem fairly variable, though there is a common core.
No. French Wikipedia lists it as unprotected.
