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Beaujolais nouveau ( , ) is a red
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...
made from
Gamay Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire_Valley_(wine), Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long a ...
grapes produced in the
Beaujolais Beaujolais ( , ) is a French '' Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which ...
region of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
. It is a '' vin de primeur'',
fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...
for just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November. Distributors famously race to get the first bottles to different markets around the globe.


History

As far back as the 1800s,
Beaujolais Beaujolais ( , ) is a French '' Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which ...
growers would gather to celebrate the end of the harvest by toasting the vintage with some of the young wine produced that year. (This is part of the French tradition of vin de primeur, or “early wines”, released in the same year as harvest, which 55 appellations in France are allowed to produce.) During this time, Lyonnais barkeepers and restaurateurs had been in the habit of buying barrels of this new Beaujolais wine, that had been pressed in September and ready to serve in November. The new wine was served via pitchers dipped into barrels. The barrels were sometimes transported simply by floating them down the
Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name der ...
river. Once the
Beaujolais AOC Beaujolais ( , ) is a French '' Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which ...
was established in 1937, AOC rules meant that Beaujolais wine could only be officially sold after 15 December in the year of harvest. Warning - plays music by default These rules were relaxed in November 1951, and the Union Interprofessionnelle des Vins du Beaujolais (UIVB) formally set 15 November as the release date for what would henceforth be known as Beaujolais nouveau. In 1985 the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) established the third Thursday of November to allow for a uniform release date for the wine. The wine used to be released from France at 12:01 on the third Thursday of November. During the 2000s the release rules started to relax, with the wines shipped ahead of time, and released to local markets at 12:01 a.m. local time. Starting in the 2010s, it started to be sent to retailers ahead of the third Thursday, with instruction not to sell it until the third Thursday. Some members of the UIVB saw the potential for marketing Beaujolais nouveau by capitalising on fast distribution of the vintage, starting with a race to get the first bottles to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
. In the 1960s, races from English clubs rewarded the drivers who returned the quickest with the most wine (sometimes resulting in spare tyres being left in Beaujolais). There continued to be more media coverage, and by the 1970s it 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. Until 1972, New York was the only US city to import Beaujolais nouveau. That year, Minneapolis became the second US city to import it; now, it is available in most US metropolis areas, and in many large cities across the globe.


Production

Beaujolais Nouveau is made from the Gamay noir à Jus blanc grape, better known simply as
Gamay Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire_Valley_(wine), Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long a ...
. The grapes come from the southern part of the Beaujolais AOC, grown in "stony, schistous soils" just north of
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...
. Both Beaujolais Nouveau and Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau are produced; the latter comes from the ~ 30 non-cru villages in the northern part of the region, and grapes from the ten Beaujolais "cru" villages / appellations are excluded. Nouveau's production have varied from 25% to almost 50% of overall production in Beaujolais. As of 2017, there are 2000 producers making 27.5 million cases from 4,000 vineyards, with 40% exported from France. By law, all grapes in the region must be harvested by hand. The wine is made using carbonic maceration, whole berry anaerobic fermentation which emphasizes fruit flavors without extracting bitter
tannins Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner' ...
from the grape skins. Grapes are loaded and sealed into a large (on the order of ) sealed container that is filled with carbon dioxide. Grapes that are gently crushed at the bottom of the container by the weight of the grapes start to ferment, emitting more CO2. All this carbon dioxide causes fermentation to take place inside the uncrushed grapes (without access to oxygen, hence "anaerobic fermentation"). The resulting wine is fresh, fruity, and very low in tannins. Part of the success of Beaujolais Nouveau is due to the Gamay grape - it can easily make this very straightforward wine and make more complex wines. Most other red wine grapes would not easily make nouveau-style wines." The wine is marketed to be drunk in November, only a few months after the grapes were on the vines - logistics to ship so much wine in such a short amount of time are a significant challenge. Means of transport have included elephant,
Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and t ...
, balloon,
rickshaw A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also ...
, helicopter, private jet, military jet, and 747. Multiple air shipping companies even have online articles about how they arrange the nouveau air shipments, and the announcement of when the nouveau may be released from the EU are an annual headline.


Celebration

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 Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
, which always falls exactly one week after the wine is released (on the fourth Thursday of November). In the United Kingdom, Beaujolais Day is particularly popular in Swansea,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, where people book tables in restaurants and bars for the day up to a year in advance. Historian Peter Stead argues that its rise in popularity there can be traced to the city's No Sign Bar in the 1960s, which was then owned by former
Wales rugby union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, ...
captain Clem Thomas, who owned a house in Burgundy and could transport Beaujolais quickly and cheaply to south Wales, and suggests that it reflected Swansea's efforts to "gentrify and intellectualise itself" at the time. In 2015 it was estimated that Beaujolais Day contributed £5 million to the local economy. As of 2014, there were over 100 Beaujolais Nouveau-related festivals held in the Beaujolais region. One such festival, Les Sarmentelles, was held in Beaujeu, the capital of the region, and lasted for days. The winner of the annual tasting contest won their weight in wine. Many producers release the nouveau with colourful or abstract design that changes every year, usually as an evolution from the previous year's design. Starting in 2017, one producer has a contest for their Beaujolais Nouveau label, and in 2020 there were over 1,000 entries. Duboeuf has silk ties made each year with their label's abstract design, and releases them through select wholesalers and distributors. In addition to the drinking of the Beaujolais Nouveau, its release represents an opportunity for chefs to cook with the wine. Due to its very young age and method of fermentation, the foods prepared with nouveau tend to be a bit more purple than red. This is especially evident in Coq au Vin and poached pears, traditional dishes from
Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...
.


Style

Beaujolais nouveau is a purple-pink wine reflecting its youth, bottled only 6–8 weeks after harvest. The method of production means that there is a higher acidity and very little
tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner ...
. Nouveau will have very bright, fresh, red fruit flavors, such as cherry, strawberry, and raspberry, along with fruity
ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ...
flavours of banana, grape, fig and pear drop. The wine is recommended to be slightly chilled to 13 °C (55 °F). Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau tends to be a bit more purple, a bit richer, and have a bit more intense fruity flavors. Beaujolais nouveau is intended for immediate drinking. It has been described as “wine of this vintage, fresh as the memory of harvest and raw as the experience of the year, unpolished by time, a reflection of the emotion of the moment.” In this same spirit, nouveau is intended to be consumed within a few months. While nouveau could be kept for a few years, there is no real reason to, as it does not improve with age. (For comparison, standard
Beaujolais Beaujolais ( , ) is a French '' Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which ...
AOC wines are released the following year and can be stored for one or more years before consuming.) The nouveau wines show definite variation between vintages, and as such are considered to be an early indicator of the quality of the year's regional wine harvest. For a period around the late 1990s some wine critics criticized Beaujolais nouveau as simple or immature. For example, wine critic
Karen MacNeil Karen MacNeil (born 1954) is an American author, journalist, wine educator and consultant. Career MacNeil's first article, on the subject of the best butter on offer in New York delis, was published in '' The Village Voice.'' She transitioned to ...
wrote that "Drinking it gives you the same kind of silly pleasure as eating cookie dough."Karen MacNeil, ''The Wine Bible'' Workman Publishing Company, Inc. 2001, pg. 225 Another wine critic,
Robert M. Parker, Jr. Robert McDowell Parker Jr. (born July 23, 1947) is a retired U.S. wine critic. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his newsletter ''The Wine Advocate'' are influential in American wine buying and are therefore a major factor in setting th ...
, disagreed, calling those opinions "ludicrous" and describing the better vintages as "delicious, zesty, exuberant, fresh, vibrantly fruity" wines. According to Julien Gobert, an
oenologist Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...
who worked in the
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...
region, "It is a proper wine and it's not actually that easy to produce. It's quite a challenge getting it right."


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 Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...
. 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 Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
("'' Vino Novello''"), Spain ("''vino joven''"), Czech Republic ("''Svatomartinské víno''") and the US ("''nouveau wine''"). In the United States, a number of vintners have produced Nouveau-style wines, using various grapes such as
Gamay Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire_Valley_(wine), Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long a ...
,
Zinfandel Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kašte ...
,
Tempranillo Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais in Spain, Aragonez or Tinta Roriz in Portugal, and several other synonyms elsewhere) is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its ...
,
Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...
, and even
Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...
. There is also movement in the US of making nouveau wines in homage of the French Glou Glou wine movement and in homage of Beaujolais nouveau.


See also

* List of vins de primeur


References


External links


10 Fascinating Facts About Beaujolais NouveauRed Scare: Stay away from that Beaujolais Nouveau, sucker.
Mike Steinberger, Slate.com 21 November 2002.
In Defense Of Beaujolais Nouveau
Courtney Schiessl Forbes.com 15 November 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaujolais Nouveau Burgundy wine Wine styles de:Beaujolais#Beaujolais Primeur