Beaujeu gave its name to the whole region, and then quietly let the more famous towns take the credit. The lords of Beaujeu were powerful in the Middle Ages, and their lands, the Beaujolais, were named after the town, which was the capital until the sixteenth century. Today it is a calm, small place of about two thousand people, with a main street of old houses, a Romanesque-Gothic church, a handful of cafes and a sleepy confidence that comes from knowing its own worth.
The town hosts one of the Beaujolais's most colourful events, the Sarmentelles, a festival held just before the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau in November, with a parade, music and wine tastings, in which the town celebrates the end of the harvest. The name comes from sarments, the vine prunings that were once burned in bonfires. It is a rowdy, cheerful tradition and a good time to be here, if you can find a bed.
Around Beaujeu, the vineyards roll in every direction. To the south-east rises Mont Brouilly, a conical hill crowned with a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Grape, a place of pilgrimage for winemakers, and the slopes around it produce the Côte de Brouilly. Nearby villages such as Quincié and Villié-Morgon are the home of famous wines, the first with the Brouilly vineyards and the second with Morgon, a deep, powerful gamay that can age for years. The hills here are steeper and the wines more serious than in the south of the region.
The riding is excellent. Narrow lanes wind between the vines, climbing and dropping with views over the valley to the Saône plain, the surface is generally good, and the traffic is light outside harvest. In spring, the vineyards are a fresh green, in summer a dense dark green and in autumn a blaze of red and gold. Rain makes the lanes slippery, and the grapes dropped from trailers at harvest make an unpleasant surprise.
Belleville, about thirteen kilometres away, is the nearest large town for fuel, and Beaujeu itself has cafes, a bakery and a small market. Stop for a tasting at one of the small producers, and bring a spare bag for the bottles, because it is easy to leave with more than you meant.