As the clock strikes midnight on the third Thursday of November, the new vintage of Beaujolais,
Beaujolais Nouveau, is released to the world! Over 60 million bottles make the trek to Paris for worldwide distribution, of which Germany is the leading importer. This is a young wine (only 6 weeks old), grown from the Gamay grape, and is very fruity, light-bodied, and virtually
tannin-free making for an extremely easy-to-drink red wine. It is best served chilled to really bring the fruit forward and is a popular complement to
Thanksgiving dinners, in part due to its annual release date and in part due to its food-friendliness.
According to a French law passed in 1985, Beaujolais Nouveau may not be released earlier than the third Thursday of November. As a result, tradition and custom have set in to make the annual release race of this much loved wine a fun-filled event. Starting with the hand-picking of the grapes in the Beaujolais growing region (part of Burgundy), followed by carbonic maceration, pressing, and fermentation and on to speedy bottling all to culminate in the midnight release on the third Thursday of November. Next vintners race to see whose Beaujolais Nouveau will be the first to fill the bars and bistros of the world awaiting the new vintage. They have employed all methods of transport as part of the fun and sport – from trucks to trains, jets to hot air balloons to rush their vintage to the front of the uncorking lines. Banners proclaiming, “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!” – "The New Beaujolais has arrived!" are scattered throughout wine shops, enticing those who are seeking a light-hearted, fruit-filled wine to decorate their holiday tables, and for a mere $6-10 a bottle, the decoration comes fairly cheap!
Beaujolais Nouveau is typically meant to be consumed within the first year of release, certainly not a wine that is intended for aging. Some of the top producers of Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau include: Georges Duboeuf, Domaine Yvon Metras, Jean-Paul Thevenet, and Louis Jadot.
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