Beaujolais (; frp, Biôjolês) is a historical

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

and wine-producing region in France. It is located north of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

, and covers parts of the departments of

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

and Saône-et-Loire. The region is known internationally for its long tradition of

winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...

, and more recently for the

Beaujolais nouveau Beaujolais nouveau ( , ) is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is a '' vin de primeur'', fermented for just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November. Distributo ...

Geography

The historical capital of the province is Beaujeu ( frp, Bôjor / Biôjœr) and the economic capital of the area is

Villefranche-sur-Saône Villefranche-sur-Saône (, ; frp, Velafranche) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river Saône, and is around north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called ''Caladois''. ...

().

Wine

Almost all the wine produced in the region is red wine from the Gamay grape, of which the heavily marketed Beaujolais Nouveau is the most well-known, and the village crus the most prized.

Notes and references

* Mathieu Méras, ''Le Beaujolais au Moyen Age'', Lyon, 1956. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaujolais (Province) Former provinces of France Geography of Rhône (department) Geography of Saône-et-Loire de:Beaujolais