Le Beaujolais Nouveau est Arrivé!

Time to Celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau Day!

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What is Beaujolais Nouveau Day?

  A holiday in France, much like the American celebration of St. Patrick's day, where restaurants and cafes celebrate the arrival of the new vintage of Beaujolais wine (featuring the Gamay grape). As regulated by law, the new vintage may be released on the third Thursday in November at midnight. 

This holiday is not for wine-snobs, Beaujolais Nouveau is known as a bright, fruit forward, light bodied red without much complexity. But that is exactly why I love it. It's a fresh wine, harvested and produced in a few weeks, meant to be consumed young. Historically, this party was meant to celebrate the end of the harvest and boost cash flow for wineries after harvest. In the 1970s, wineries began the "race to Paris" tradition. Since then, many countries have adopted the tradition of celebrating the race to Paris by opening bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau immediately after midnight.

If you ever find yourself in France around the third Thursday in November, try to check out the festivals. Many begin with markets and vendors during the day, with the celebration moving to the restaurants around midnight to ring in the new vintage. And remember, Beaujolais Nouveau goes great with food, especially casual fare.

Cheers!

Grape Tales: Gamay

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Gamay

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If you have heard of it, you are probably thinking Beaujolais. Now before you judge this grape as a less-than desirable red grape whose most memorable quality is the likely headache you will have the next day - read the history and give this grape a chance!

When I think Gamay, I think young, fun, the life of the party - and with good reason - because Gamay is the star of the show in Beaujolais. Some wine writer's consider Beaujolais a joke, not even worth a full paragraph of discussion. But I think there is something to be said for a mass produced wine, quickly bottled as a sample, basically just opened to celebrate a new vintage. (Stay tuned on a post discussing the Beaujolais Nouveau celebration in France).

Gamay based Beaujolais Nouveau is produced primarily in the Burgundy region of France. It is known as an easy drinker that can take a chill. Even more exciting, it is usually not very expensive (I have found a lot of decent bottles at TJs - Trader Joe's for you newbies). And a fun fact, this grape is rumored to wine over even the most devout white wine drinkers.

Growing Profile.

Where it's grown:

 Beaujolais Villages, Burgundy, France; Loire Valley, France; Niagra Falls, Canada and Oregon

Common characteristics:

"Peardrop" aromas, fresh fruit, strawberry, raspberry, fresh

Acidity:

Medium to high (acidity in grapes softened by carbonic maceration*)

Tannin:

 Low, light bodied wine.

Alcohol:

 Average

Labels to try:

 Jadot or Duboeuf

So get out there, grab a bottle and remember to drink it young. This grape is known as party-er that does not benefit from arriving fashionably late. (Think Ke$ha around 4 a.m., no one really needs to see that...)

Cheers!

*Carbonic Maceration - wine making technique where whole grapes are fermented in a carbon dioxide rich environment prior to crushing. This allows the grape juice to start fermenting while it's still within the skins, resulting in fruity wine with low tannins.