Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé! (Well, almost…)

November 16, 2009  by Sarah Raymond

Photo courtesy of French Wine a Day

While those of us in the U.S. look forward to the fourth Thursday of November – our beloved Thanksgiving holiday – in France, it is the third Thursday of the month that has become a day to celebrate. It is on this day that producers of Beaujolais Nouveau, a wine hailing from the region near Lyon, are first allowed to sell their wine made from this year’s harvest. So this coming Thursday, exactly one week before we sit down and tuck into our feasts of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and apple pie, our French counterparts will be uncorking bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau and tasting this year’s version of the young, often light red wine made from grapes harvested earlier this fall.

Photo courtesy of fiaf.org

The 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau is made, as tradition dictates, from Gamay grapes grown in the Beaujolais region. It is not meant to be aged; rather, it should be consumed before next year’s vintage hits store, and preferably even sooner. By law, the Beaujolais Nouveau can not be sold before this third Thursday of November, so the winemakers start shipping cases and barrels out as soon as the clock strikes midnight —not just throughout France, but all over the world.

In Lyon, just a few kilometers from the Beaujolais region, the party gets started Wednesday night in anticipation of the wine’s arrival; barrels are rolled in through the city streets soon after midnight and festivities continue into the wee hours of Thursday morning. In Paris, the wine will not arrive until several hours later, and will be celebrated  in full on Thursday evening. For those in Paris, the wine’s release will be evident from the many signs hanging in restaurants, cafés, and brasseries, as well as from the colorfully labeled wine bottles being shared among friends.

If you are in France this Thursday, November 19, we suggest giving the 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau a try. You’ll get a taste not only of the wine, but of the French culture surrounding it. Head to a café, bar, or brasserie to try the wine in a communal setting—just look for the crowd, revel with the Frenchies, and taste away. It may not be the most sophisticated wine you drink, but it might just be the most fun.

For more details on the Beaujolais Nouveau, check out these sites:

History of Beaujolais Nouveau
10 Fascinating Facts about Beaujolais Nouveau
French Wine a Day (from the 2006 release)

Written by Sarah Raymond for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.

Tags: Beaujolais, Beaujolais Nouveau, Beaujolais Wine, French Wine, Gamay
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