The Beaujolais revival has been one of the most inspiring wine stories of the 21st century.

This region, which in the last quarter of the 20th century largely devoted itself to the mass production of fruity, treacly Beaujolais Nouveau, had been left moribund by a steep decline in demand. By the late ’90s, the area was in crisis. Unsold wine was distilled into industrial alcohol, and whole vineyards went unharvested as some farmers cut their losses by letting the fruit rot rather than turn it into wine.

Since then, the evolution of Beaujolais has been astounding. A small group of growers, who clung to the notion of making fine wine despite the Nouveau craze, served as a model for others. They demonstrated that by emphasizing quality over quantity, they could sell their wines for higher prices and achieve greater profit margins than they could with Nouveau.

This approach required meticulous farming. Winemakers skipped the manipulations that characterized so much of Beaujolais Nouveau production. It proved that the region, which even in the days before the Nouveau craze was known for simple, thirst-quenching wines, could make complex wines as well.

This new Beaujolais earned a devoted following among people who recognized the value in wines that could combine the juicy joy inherent in gamay, the grape of red Beaujolais, with a clear sense of place.