Is Beaujolais-Villages good for Thanksgiving?
Yes, Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages is one of the best Thanksgiving wines you can buy: light, bright and fruity enough to work with turkey and every side on the plate.
Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages · Gamay · Beaujolais, France · grocery stores and most wine shops
- Alcohol
- About 12.5% to 13.5%, depending on the year
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Grapes
- 100% Gamay
- Made by
- Georges Duboeuf, a family wine house now run by Franck Duboeuf
- From
- Beaujolais-Villages, France
- Price
- About $12 to $15
- Calories
- About 115 to 125 in a 5 oz glass, a little under most reds
What it tastes like
Fresh cherry, raspberry and a little banana-and-candy fruitiness. Light, juicy and refreshing, with almost no grip.
- Bodylight → big
- Sweetnessdry → sweet
- Zingsoft → zippy
- Gripsmooth → grippy
Is it worth $13?
Yes. It is cheap, it is easy to find, and it is genuinely the right wine for a lot of meals. Buy two or three for a holiday table.
Who it’s for
For people who like light reds, anyone who usually drinks white, and big holiday dinners. If you want a bold, heavy red, this is not it.
How to serve it
Chill it for 20 to 30 minutes. Beaujolais is one red that is actually better cold-ish.
The backstory
Georges Duboeuf was the man who turned Beaujolais Nouveau into a worldwide November party, and people called him the "king of Beaujolais." He died in 2020 and his son Franck runs the house now, still from their home village of Romanèche-Thorins. This is their everyday bottle with the famous flower label. Gamay grapes and a gentle, whole-bunch style of winemaking keep it juicy and light, with barely any tannin (the stuff that dries your mouth out).
How it compares
- Duboeuf Beaujolais vs La Crema Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is the other famous light red; La Crema is silkier and earthier but costs about $10 more, so Duboeuf wins for a big table on a budget.
- Duboeuf Beaujolais vs Bread & Butter Pinot
Bread & Butter Pinot is softer and a little sweeter-tasting with some vanilla; Duboeuf is brighter and fresher, which works better with salty, fatty holiday food.
- Duboeuf Beaujolais vs Ruffino Chianti
Chianti is more tart and savory with more grip, great with tomato sauce; Beaujolais is fruitier and gentler, better with turkey and cheese.
What to eat with it
Questions people ask
- What is Beaujolais wine?
- A red wine from the Beaujolais region of France, just south of Burgundy, made from the Gamay grape. It is known for being light, juicy and fruity, and it is one of the few reds people happily drink chilled.
- Is Beaujolais sweet or dry?
- Dry. It tastes so fruity (cherry, raspberry, a little candy) that people sometimes think it is sweet, but there is basically no sugar in it.
- What is the difference between Beaujolais-Villages and Beaujolais Nouveau?
- Nouveau is bottled just weeks after harvest and released every year on the third Thursday of November, so it's super fresh and simple. Villages comes from a set of better villages in the north of the region and gets a bit more time, so it has more flavor and lasts longer.
- How do you pronounce Beaujolais?
- Say "bo-zho-LAY." Villages is "vee-LAHZH."
- Is Beaujolais in Burgundy?
- Officially it is counted as part of greater Burgundy, but it's its own region with its own grape. Burgundy reds are Pinot Noir, while Beaujolais is Gamay.
- How long does Beaujolais-Villages last?
- Drink it within two or three years of the vintage on the label, while it's fresh. Once opened, put the cork back in, keep it in the fridge and finish it within three days.
If you like this, try
- La Crema Pinot NoirPinot Noir · about $25Drink this one
- Bread & Butter PinotPinot Noir · about $15Good buy
- Ruffino ChiantiSangiovese · about $10Good buy
Where Moxie recommends it
- What wine goes with turkey?
- What is the best wine for Thanksgiving dinner?
- What wine goes with Indian food?
- What is the best wine for Christmas dinner?
- What is dry red wine?
- What is a light red wine?
- How many calories are in a glass of wine?
- Should red wine be chilled?
Last checked 2026-10-04. Moxie Vino isn’t affiliated with Georges Duboeuf; this is our honest take. Bottle photo: Georges Duboeuf.