38 / 2462 · Illegal French Lesson: Beaujolais Nouveau Has Arrived!

Today is the third Thursday of November 2011—the day Beaujolais Nouveau goes on sale!

Beaujolais wines, often simply called Beaujolais, come from the Beaujolais region in east-central France. Because one wine there dominates production and sales and is backed by a strong marketing campaign, people often mistake it for the region’s only wine: Beaujolais Nouveau, also known as Beaujolais Primeur.

The Beaujolais region, in southern Burgundy.

Beaujolais is distinctive because it is the only French region that makes wine from the Gamay grape. Most Beaujolais wines are “new wines”: they are not aged in oak barrels, have low tannins, strong fruit aromas and a fresh taste. They do not keep for long, so the emphasis is on drinking each year’s wine in that same year. Every autumn, people open bottles of that year’s wine, which can only begin fermenting after September 11 and is ready by early October.

Since Beaujolais Nouveau got its name in 1951, its annual release has been celebrated for sixty years. A wider Beaujolais festival trend took hold in the 1970s. Since 1985, the release has been set for the third Thursday of November. Even bottles already shipped to stores around the world cannot go on sale before that date.

Posters from past Beaujolais Nouveau celebrations. See more

Beaujolais Nouveau has a short shelf life, depending on storage conditions. At best, it should be finished by the beginning of the following year. So if you see this year’s and last year’s bottles bundled together at a supermarket, think carefully before buying the older one. Ha!

Beaujolais Nouveau poster for 2011.

Further reading: Wikipedia · Beaujolais Nouveau

Quiz

How many years had the Beaujolais Nouveau celebration been held by then?
- 40 years
- 50 years
- 60 years
Which grape is used to make Beaujolais wine?
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Gamay
- Merlot
- Pinot
Where in France is the Beaujolais region?
- North
- East
- South
- West
- Center

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