Gamay is the primary grape of Beaujolais, contributing to a wide style of wines, from the light, grapey Beaujolais Nouveau to the more structured wines of Beaujolais Villages. While Beaujolais is administratively considered part of the Burgundy wine growing region, the climate here is closer to that of the Rhone. Gamay is also the primary grape of the lesser red wine of the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits, Bourgogne Passetoutgrains. Some notable Gamays also come from Vouvray and Touraine in the Loire Valley. The name of the grape comes from the small town of Gamay, located a few kilometers from Chassagne Montrachet in Burgundy.

Gamay reveals fresh, fruit-forward flavors in Beaujolais Nouveau wines through the nature of the production process, in which much of the fermentation takes place within uncrushed grapes. This minimizes the contact between juice and skins, resulting in a red wine with unusually low tannin levels. Beaujolais Nouveau is generally served as an aperitif or with light fare like salads or charcuterie. In the cru wines from ten villages in the north of Beaujolais, the Gamay grape displays significantly greater complexity, and some of these wines benefit from at least three years of bottle-aging. These cru Beaujolais can take on pinot-like characteristics, and pair well with foods like roast chicken or grilled salmon.