The French have their own Thursday-in-late-November celebration: La Fête du Beaujolais Nouveau. Come the third Thursday in November, anywhere that sells wine will be loudly proclaiming the arrival of the new Beaujolais.
Due, I think, to overproduction on the part of French winemakers, the “holiday” was created to boost Beaujolais sales right after the harvest. When they say “Nouveau,” they aren’t kidding. The grapes were harvested maybe two months ago, and this is the first actual wine to be produced in any given year.
Very light and fruity, this wine is meant to be drunk NOW. There is no tannin to speak of, and very little structure, but the stuff goes down like fruit juice. Served slightly chilled, it is dangerously drinkable (it is not unheard of for one person to casually polish off a whole bottle on a weeknight… not that I know anything about that personally, mind you). Because of its gentle acidity, it is a rather food-friendly wine, and magazines all over the US for the last couple of years have been touting it as a great wine for Thanksgiving. While I tend to prefer a wine as special as the meal I just spent three days preparing, I can see where they’re coming from.
This year’s batch (based on the one I’ve tried so far) is fairly typical – fruity and easy-drinking. If you see it, grab a bottle and drink it soon. This is not cellar wine, so don’t spend more than 10 bucks.
Cheers, and have a wonderful weekend!
Originally published on Croque-Camille.
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Here Gaillac Nouveau has done a really great marketing job and we now hear more about it locally than Beaujolais. I bought a few at a local fruit and veggie shop and they were doing wine-tasting but ONLY with the Gaillac — and they were selling just one type of Beaujolais.
I did your mosaic activity but with only four photos by the way. I was feeling exhausted, as usual in the evening, but here is the link:
http://cuisinequotidienne.blogspot.com/2008/11/lazy-mosaic.html
Not half as lovely as yours but someday I’ll try the full version. It is fun and the automatic linkback feature makes it easier than it looks.
YAY!!! I will have to pick up a few bottles and DRINK NOW as you suggest…well, okay, I’ll wait til after my coffee this a.m. 🙂
Have a fantastic weekend!
Betty – I haven’t heard of Gaillac nouveau, is it from your region?
Jody – Enjoy!