| Beaujolais Nouveau | |
|---|---|
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| Region | Burgundy |
| Appellation | Beaujolais |
| Grape varieties | Gamay |
Beaujolais nouveau is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is the most popular vin de primeur, fermented for just a few weeks then officially released for sale on the third Thursday of November. This "Beaujolais Day", or "Beaujolais Nouveau Day" sees heavy marketing from the producers, with races to get the first bottles of the vintage to different markets.
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Style
Beaujolais Nouveau is a purple-pink wine that is particularly lightweight, even by the standards of Beaujolais. The method of production means that there is very little tannin, and the wine can be dominated by fruity, ester flavours of bananas and pear drops. These are enhanced by the frequent recommendation to serve the wine lightly chilled, at approximately 13°C (55°F).
Many wine critics criticize the wines marketed as Beaujolais Nouveau as simple or immature. Wine critic Karen MacNeil has compared drinking Beaujolais Nouveau to eating cookie dough.[1]
Beaujolais Nouveau is intended for immediate drinking, and in general should not be kept for more than a year. On the other hand, it usually benefits from being left a few weeks to recover from the effects of bottle-shock - and in the Northern Hemisphere the weather is more suited to Beaujolais drinking in Spring than in the chill of November. However, this rather misses the point of Beaujolais Nouveau's "immediacy", and patient drinkers can buy standard Beaujolais AOC wines released the following year at lower prices without the Nouveau hype. The wines show definite variation between vintages, at worst the wines start to decline after Christmas; wines from a very good year might still be drinking well 12 months later.
Production
Beaujolais Nouveau is made from the Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc grape, better known simply as Gamay. The grapes must come from the Beaujolais AOC, but grapes from the ten "cru" appellations are excluded. By law, all grapes in the region must be harvested by hand. This is because Beaujolais is made using carbonic maceration, whole berry fermentation which emphasizes fruit flavors without extracting bitter tannins from the skins of the grapes. The wine is then pasteurized[citation needed] to preserve the 'fresh' taste of the wine by preventing malolactic fermentation. The wine is ready to be drunk just 6-8 weeks after the harvest.
Around 49 million liters[citation needed] of Beaujolais Nouveau are produced each year, making up nearly half of the region's total wine production. About half of this is exported, with Germany and Japan the biggest markets, followed by the USA.
History
Beaujolais had always made a vin de l'année to celebrate the end of the harvest, but until after WWII it was only for local consumption. In fact, once the Beaujolais AOC was established in 1937, AOC rules meant that Beaujolais wine could only be officially sold after the 15th December in the year of harvest.[2] These rules were relaxed on 13 November 1951[2], and the Union Interprofessionnelle des Vins du Beaujolais (UIVB) formally set the 15 November as the release date for what would henceforth be known as Beaujolais Nouveau.
A few members of the UIVB, notably the négociant Georges Duboeuf, saw the potential for marketing Beaujolais Nouveau. Not only was it a way to clear lots of vin ordinaire at a good profit, but selling wine within weeks of the harvest was great for cash flow. Hence the idea was born of a race to Paris carrying the first bottles of the new vintage. This attracted a lot of media coverage, and by the 1970s had become a national event. The races spread to neighbouring countries in Europe in the 1980s, followed by North America, and in the 1990s to Asia.[2] In 1985, the date was changed to the third Thursday in November to take best advantage of marketing in the following weekend.
This "Beaujolais Day" is accompanied by publicity events and heavy advertising. The traditional slogan, even in English-speaking countries, was “Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!” (literally, "The new Beaujolais has arrived!"), but in 2005 this was changed to "It's Beaujolais Nouveau Time!". In the United States, it is promoted as a drink for Thanksgiving, which falls a week after the wine is released.
Duboeuf remains the biggest producer of Beaujolais Nouveau; unlike the "flower" labels of his other wines, his Nouveau features a colourful abstract design that changes every year. Duboeuf has silk ties made each year with the label's abstract design, and releases them through select wholesalers and distributors.
Similar wines
The commercial success of Beaujolais Nouveau led to the development of other "primeur" wines in other parts of France, such as the Gaillac AOC near Toulouse. These wines are typically released on the third Thursday of November, just like their counterparts in Beaujolais. The practice has spread to other wine producing countries such as Italy ("Vino Novello"), Spain ("vino nuevo") and the US ("nouveau wine")
In the Czech Republic, the wine of St. Martin is very famous. This young wine is traditionally uncorked on 11/11, at 11:00. It is made only from restricted grape varieties (Müller Thurgau, Saint Laurent, Blue Portugal etc.) and can be red, white or rosé.
In the US, there had been several producers of Nouveau-style wines, using various grapes including Gamay, Zinfandel and even Riesling. Beringer was California's largest Nouveau California producer, and included 3- liter bottles in its offerings; it stopped Nouveau production in the early 2000s. Across the US, many local and regional wineries release nouveau wines near November's third Thursday to be part of the Nouveau enthusiasm.
See also
External links
- 10 Fascinating Facts About Beaujolais Nouveau
- An article on Slate which explores the marketing hype associated with the wine.
References
- ^ Karen MacNeil, The Wine Bible Workman Publishing Company, Inc. 2001, pg. 225
- ^ a b c "It's Beaujolais Nouveau Time!" (Flash). Union Interprofessionnelle des Vins du Beaujolais. http://www.beaujolaisnouveautime.com/. Retrieved 2007-10-14. Warning - plays music by default
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