How to pronounce Beaujolais

What is Beaujolais?

A wine region in southern Burgundy known for light red wines made from Gamay using carbonic maceration.

Beaujolais lies north of Lyon in eastern France, mostly in the Rhône department and partly in Saône-et-Loire. It is traditionally counted as part of Burgundy, although its grape and style are its own. The name comes from the town of Beaujeu.

Nearly all Beaujolais is red and made from Gamay. A small share is white, mostly from Chardonnay. Many wines are made by semi-carbonic maceration, in which whole bunches begin fermenting uncrushed. The result is a light red with fresh red berry fruit and little tannin, and sometimes a banana or pear drop note in the youngest wines.

There are three levels on the label. Beaujolais is the basic regional wine, Beaujolais-Villages is a step up, and the ten crus sit at the top. A cru label usually shows only the name of the cru, such as Morgon, Fleurie or Brouilly, so the word Beaujolais may not be on the front at all.

Beaujolais Nouveau is the new wine of the year, released on the third Thursday of November, only weeks after the harvest. It is meant to be drunk within a few months. Beaujolais is commonly served lightly chilled, with Nouveau cooler than the crus.

Beaujolais, syllable by syllable

Why Beaujolais is hard to say

French spells one sound with several letters. The group eau is a plain oh, as in Bordeaux and Château, and ai is a single vowel close to the e in bed, which English ears hear as ay. A final s is normally silent in French, so the word stops on that vowel. Chablis works the same way.

French j is not the English j of jam. It is the zh sound of measure, made without the d that English puts in front. The same sound is spelled with a soft g in Hermitage and Gevrey-Chambertin. French also places the stress on the last sounded syllable, which is why the beat falls on LAY and not on the first syllable.

Tips for saying it

Saying Beaujolais when you buy wine

Say boh-zhoh-LAY at an even pace and let the last syllable carry the weight. In English the middle vowel is often heard relaxed, as boh-zhuh-LAY, and British speakers often stress the first syllable. Both will be understood in any shop or restaurant. It helps to add the level you want, since Nouveau, Villages and a cru are quite different wines.

• “Do you have a Beaujolais by the glass?”
• “Could you chill the Beaujolais for a few minutes?” A light chill is a normal request for this wine.
• “I'd like a cru Beaujolais, maybe a Morgon or a Fleurie.” Naming a cru points the seller to the more structured wines.

Names often confused with Beaujolais

• Gamay (gah-MAY): The grape in red Beaujolais. The label names the place, not the grape, so Gamay may not appear on the bottle.
• Beaujolais Villages (boh-zhoh-LAY vee-LAZH): The middle level, from villages in the northern part of the region, with the same zh sound a second time at the end.
• Beaujolais crus (boh-zhoh-LAY KROO): The ten named appellations at the top of the region, usually sold under their own names.
• Fleurie (fluh-REE): One of the ten crus; it is a Beaujolais even though the label often does not say so.

Questions about pronouncing Beaujolais

How do you pronounce Beaujolais?

Beaujolais is pronounced boh-zhoh-LAY in French: boh as in go, zhoh with the soft zh sound of measure, and a stressed LAY that rhymes with day. The final s is silent. In English it is often heard as boh-zhuh-LAY.

Is the s silent in Beaujolais?

Yes. A final s is normally silent in French, so Beaujolais ends on the vowel sound of LAY. The same is true of Chablis. The s stays silent in Beaujolais Nouveau and Beaujolais-Villages too.

How do you pronounce Beaujolais in American and British English?

American dictionaries give boh-zhuh-LAY, with a relaxed middle vowel and the stress on the last syllable, as in French. British dictionaries list the stress on the first syllable, BOH-zhuh-lay. The French form is boh-zhoh-LAY, and all three are understood.

What is the difference between Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau?

Beaujolais is the region and its wines in general. Beaujolais Nouveau is one style: a very young Gamay released on the third Thursday of November in the year of the harvest and meant for drinking within a few months. Beaujolais-Villages and the ten crus are made to be more structured.

Sources: Dictionary.com: Beaujolais, Wikipedia: Beaujolais, Wikipedia: Beaujolais nouveau. Last reviewed 2026-10-10.