‘Tis the Season to be ‘jolais…

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, or so the song goes. Are we talking about the miracle of Christmas? No! We’re talking about a holiday without peer; the Arrival of the Beaujolais Nouveau. En Francais, the slogan is “Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrive!” or simply, the new Beaujolais has arrived!

Never to miss a significant French holiday, we had to share it with you.
This wine has enough youthful vigor to be the star coming attraction of the holidays, even more so than Baby New Year. For generations now, the young pinky/purple wine is whisked to an excited worldwide market a mere 6-8 weeks after harvest. This wine has been derided by many as being simple or immature, but those “in the know” extol its youthfulness and ease of drinking.
The good people at intowine.com offer a brief history:
“Beaujolais Nouveau began as a local phenomenon in the local bars, cafes, and bistros of Beaujolais and Lyons. Each fall the new Beaujolais would arrive with much fanfare. In pitchers filled from the growers barrels, wine was drunk by an eager population. It was wine made fast to drink while the better Beaujolais was taking a more leisurely course. Eventually, the government stepped into regulate the sale of all this quickly transported, free-flowing wine.
Beaujolais Nouveau began as a local phenomenon in the local bars, cafes, and bistros of Beaujolais and Lyons. Each fall the new Beaujolais would arrive with much fanfare. In pitchers filled from the growers barrels, wine was drunk by an eager population. It was wine made fast to drink while the better Beaujolais was taking a more leisurely course. Eventually, the government stepped into regulate the sale of all this quickly transported, free-flowing wine.
In 1938 regulations and restrictions were put in place to restrict the where, when, and how of all this carrying on. After the war years, in 1951, these regulations were revoked by the region’s governing body, the Union Interprofessional des Vins de Beaujolais (UIVB), and the Beaujolais Nouveau was officially recognized. The official release date was set for November 15th. Beaujolais Nouveau was officially born. By this time, what was just a local tradition had gained so much popularity that the news of it reached Paris. The race was born. It wasn’t long thereafter that the word spilled out of France and around the world. In 1985, the date was again changed, this time to the third Thursday of November tying it to a weekend and making the celebration complete. But wherever the new Beaujolais went, importers had to agree not to sell it before midnight on the third Thursday of November.”
The timing of its release and this light profile have made it an ideal wine for Thanksgiving fowl, Christmas cocktail parties, and New Year’s roasts.
Many are familiar with the grandpere of the Beaujolais movement, George Duboeuf, but in recent years, several smaller upstarts have chimed in with their own offerings. Regardless of the label, one can expect Beaujolais Nouveau to be in the $8.99 – $10.99 price range. Remember, as tempting as they are to hold on to, these wines are ready and bursting with excitement to be consumed now! Don’t put them on the shelves, put them on the table.
Word on the street is that our friends over at Rooper’s, here in L/A, are flush with le Beaujolais Nouveau, and are selling it inexpensively. Rooper’s wine gal, Carrie, says that it will be over and done with within weeks, so all the Beaujolais fans should strike now!