Encore, Nous Sommes Arrivées!

Beaujolais Nouveau is a testament to people’s unflagging desire to create seasonal celebrations.

What It Is
Beaujolais Nouveau is red wine from east central France’s Beaujolais region, sitting just under Burgundy (although Beaujolais is actually part of Burgundy, just its very own part). Like all Beaujolais reds, Beaujolais Nouveau is made from Gamay, but it’s a very young version of Beaujolais wine. To make their Nouveau, Beaujolais winemakers carbonically macerate the grapes, vinify them, and bottle the resultant wine just a few weeks after harvest. Thus, the wine is light-bodied — Gamay already being a lighter red grape — and is quite juicy if only for the fact that vintners make the wine so quickly that the Gamay juice has little time on the skins to receive their tannins. Most versions of this “young wine” are meant to be drunk and enjoyed immediately.

So, how did we come to have an iconic French wine that seems so counter what you expect from French wine?

How It Came to Be
The key is that this version of Beaujolais wine is made and completed right after harvest. Going back to the 1800s, it was a commemorative drink, celebrating that harvest was over — a way for workers to quickly enjoy the literal fruits of their labors. Eventually, winemakers started shipping this young wine up to Paris and down to Lyon as a way to get an influx of much needed income after harvest, before their “proper wine” was ready.

In the 1950s and 60s, the whole thing became fashionable … or should we say the Union Interprofessionnelle des Vins du Beaujolais made it fashionable. In 1951, to combat a lack of interest in young wine, the Union did two things. First, they coined the name “Beaujolais Nouveau.” Second, they prompted distributors to race to see who could get their bottles out to restaurants the soonest … and promoted their competition. Branding and a good gimmick work, so drinking Beaujolais Nouveau didn’t just become a thing in Paris but in Britain as well. By the 60s, distributors didn’t have to be prompted to race. Eventually, the French government stepped in and designated the third Thursday in November as Beaujolais Nouveau Day — the day before which you were not allowed to serve or sell it. And thus an event was born …

Beaujolais Nouveau Day!
… and continues! This third Thursday of November is Beaujolais Nouveau Day. Stop by, and you can taste our offerings of what is now the world’s favorite fresh, fruit-forward, easy-drinking wine that was naught but grapes just weeks ago. Come by any time during the hour and a half for this free walk-up tasting.