- Beaujolais Nouveau (new season or young Beaujolais) has been produced in the region for over 200 years, from black Gamay grapes, as a way of celebrating the recent harvest.
- The grapes must be picked by hand in order to qualify.
- The wine is made using a process called carbonic maceration or whole berry fermentation – where the whole grapes are sealed into a large container that is filled with carbon dioxide. The grapes right at the bottom start to ferment first as they are crushed by the weight of the grapes on top. As they do so, they emit more CO2 which helps all the uncrushed grapes to ferment without any oxygen.
- The resulting wine is very fresh and fruity and low in tannins as there is no bitterness from the grape skins.
- The traditional release day is the third Thursday of November at 12.01 and a great marketing initiative in the 1960s saw people racing to Beaujolais to get the first bottles to Paris.
- The slogan ‘Le Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrivé’ (The New Beaujolais has arrived!) was coined in the 1970s and banners bearing the words were used to advertise bars and bistros celebrating the event. The slogan was changed in 2005 to Beaujolais Nouveau Day. Time for a gallic shrug?
- While Beaujolais Nouveau is made to be drunk young, the higher quality versions including those with the AOC Beaujolais Villages will often keep for much longer, particularly in a good year.
- The UK town said to have the highest consumption of Beaujolais Nouveau is Swansea. Possibly thanks to Rugby Union Captain Clem Thomas’s love for the wine, which he discovered near to his home in Burgundy and was able to ship to Wales.
- This light, fruity red pairs beautifully with all sorts of foods and flavours. Cheese, hams and cured meats, seafood, spices, chicken and pasta dishes all work well.
- Beaujolais Nouveau must be served lightly chilled.
Reserve your case before Wednesday 6th October 2021 for delivery at the end of November.
