Karim Vionnet Beaujolais-Villages, Gamay
Lantignié > Beaujolais > France
Gamay, 2021
Karim Vionnet learned wine making from Beaujolais icons Guy Breton & Marcel Lapierre. When told his wines would never sell with his own name on the label because #racism, this rebel embraced his Arabic heritage and did things his own way, with his daughter and son. Working in Lantignié, he cultivates organic fruit from all over Beaujolais. This gamay was hand harvested and fermented spontaneously in tanks, which are kept airtight during the process, releasing the built-up CO2 just before bottling. Karim believes that this technique, combined with careful natural temperature control, helps preserve the purity of the fruit. The wine is bottled unfined, unfiltered, with minimal sulfur. Very elegant and structured, almost Burgundian in style, this is a wonderful companion at the dinner table.
Lantignié > Beaujolais > France
Gamay, 2021
Karim Vionnet learned wine making from Beaujolais icons Guy Breton & Marcel Lapierre. When told his wines would never sell with his own name on the label because #racism, this rebel embraced his Arabic heritage and did things his own way, with his daughter and son. Working in Lantignié, he cultivates organic fruit from all over Beaujolais. This gamay was hand harvested and fermented spontaneously in tanks, which are kept airtight during the process, releasing the built-up CO2 just before bottling. Karim believes that this technique, combined with careful natural temperature control, helps preserve the purity of the fruit. The wine is bottled unfined, unfiltered, with minimal sulfur. Very elegant and structured, almost Burgundian in style, this is a wonderful companion at the dinner table.
Lantignié > Beaujolais > France
Gamay, 2021
Karim Vionnet learned wine making from Beaujolais icons Guy Breton & Marcel Lapierre. When told his wines would never sell with his own name on the label because #racism, this rebel embraced his Arabic heritage and did things his own way, with his daughter and son. Working in Lantignié, he cultivates organic fruit from all over Beaujolais. This gamay was hand harvested and fermented spontaneously in tanks, which are kept airtight during the process, releasing the built-up CO2 just before bottling. Karim believes that this technique, combined with careful natural temperature control, helps preserve the purity of the fruit. The wine is bottled unfined, unfiltered, with minimal sulfur. Very elegant and structured, almost Burgundian in style, this is a wonderful companion at the dinner table.
Grape: 100% Gamay
ABV: 13%
Story: “Sex, Rock & Gamay,” a phrase on Karim Vionnet’s t-shirt, which unintentionally made a much larger statement about its wearer. Karim exudes an unapologetic, forthright, carefree spirit which manifests itself in various ways, including his wine. He drives three cars, none of them French. He owns three motorcycles but does not have a driver’s license. He is a fan of the heavy metal band AC/DC. He liberally sprinkles conversations with f-bombs. He has a weakness for beer.
Karim Vionnet was born in Lyon, having been adopted in Morgon by Marie and Josef Vionnet as a baby (he amusedly acknowledges the biblical parallel). After service as a French paratrooper and a short stint as a baker, he worked for 10 years as a vineyard hand and winemaker under such Beaujolais luminaries as Guy Breton and Marcel Lapierre. When he started his own winery in 2006, he was told that his ethnic first name would limit sales, so at first he labeled his wines as ‘K. Vionnet’. After this initial capitulation, he overcame this version of racism. Karim embraced his North African heritage and began putting his full name on his wines, even naming one of his Beaujolais-Villages cuvées “Du Beur Dans Les Pinards” (“Arab in your wine”) a play on the French saying “du beurre dans les épinards”, which refers to when you have enough money to “add a bit of butter in your spinach.” While Karim owns no vineyards himself, he is responsible for the organic farming and vinification of 5 hectares of 40-60 year old vines around Beaujolais, which he cultivates with his daughter and son.
Personality:Aromas and flavors of wild berries, currants, and plums mingle with touches of spice, licorice, and hints of earthy oolong tea. A silky, refined texture wraps it all up beautifully.
Harmony: Very elegant and structured, almost Burgundian in style, this is a wonderful companion at the dinner table, especially strip steak asada.