| Beaujolais Nouveau |
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Breaking Rules with Beaujolais Nouveau
Similarly to the majority of French wines, Beaujolais is named after the region in France where it is made. Beaujolais is region on the southern edge of the famous Burgundy region. Beaujolais is made of the Gamay grape variety. All Beaujolais wine are meant to be drunk young, but the extreme version here is Beaujolais Nouveau. It is released for sale mere seven to nine weeks after harvest. The short period of aging allows Beaujolais Nouveau to have very little tanning and consequently grapy and fruity flavour which can be compared to bananas, figs or pears. It has purple-pink colour and light scent. Beaujolais Nouveau is often criticized for this very lightness and though to be immature, but this is the wine that should be drunk young.
A specific technique is used for production of Beaujolais Nouveau. While the production of the rest of wines starts with the crushing of grapes, it is not the case for Beaujolais Nouveau. The grapes are not crushed, but placed whole into a container which is filled with carbon dioxide and sealed. The carbon dioxide causes the fermentation to occur inside the grape skins. The resulting wine has a very peculiar fresh and fruity flavour and which is very easy to drink. Beaujolais Nouveau is officially released for same on the same day of each year - the third Thursday of November. That is why this wine is often associated with Thanksgiving day. The traditional slogan of the Beaujolais day is “Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrive!” which means “The new Beaujolais has arrived!”. The shipping of the wine starts at exactly one minute past twelve on Thursday. By the time the day is over 65 millions of bottles are sold, which makes up almost half of the region’s annual wine production. Beaujolais Nouveau should not be kept for longer than a year after the release day, but a few weeks of rest will do it good.
Beaujolais Nouveau pairs well with simple food such as ham salad or macaroni cheese. There is also a French dish made of Gruyere cheese called Gougeres. It is traditionally served with Beaujolais Nouveau. Unlike many red wines Beaujolais Nouveau should be drunk chilled. Or if you do not have time to chill, drop a few ice cubes into your glass and pour the wine over them. Indeed, the great thing about Beaujolais Nouveau is that it can be drunk any way you like: through the straw or even straight from the bottle. This is mainly due to the fact that people who are picky about wine, do not favour Beaujolais Nouveau much, so they do not put an effort into imposing rules as to how to drink it. Isn’t it great? |
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