“As a wine guy, I often feel a lot like Sisyphus, the king of Ephyra in Greek mythology who was condemned to an eternity of hard labor for (among other things) chaining up Hades, the god of the underworld. It is usually a really bad idea to chain up anybody, and at the top of that list has to be imprisoning the god who has rule over the dead.

“Yeah, bad move.

“So why do I liken my lot in life to that of this reckless renegade who was forced to repeatedly push an enormous boulder to the top of a hill only to see it roll back down?

“Well, I continually harp that champagne (and sparkling wine) is not solely for celebration, that we all should drink rosé year-round, that there is not one ”perfect” Thanksgiving wine (although champagne comes close), most Zinfandel is not “white”, and that there is so much more to Beaujolais than “Beaujolais Nouveau.”

“I spout these universal truths so often with no apparent impact, that I sometimes hope to be crushed by Sisyphus’ boulder.

“Today, I try to tackle Beaujolais. One more time.

“Until relatively recently, Beaujolais was considered to be a part of the much more famous (and therefore coveted) Burgundy wine region. Beaujolais, however, was always seen as a poor man’s Burgundy, a far less favored stepchild, since red Beaujolais is made with the relatively obscure Gamay variety while red Burgundy is produced from Pinot Noir, a “noble” grape…”

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