Beaujolais Nouveau is a celebration of young wine from France. Wine experts explained why Beaujolais Nouveau is a scam How Beaujolais Wine Festival is celebrated

The first and foremost thing that every true rooster should know is that Beaujolais is made from the pathetic and useless Gamay grape variety. Secondly, the soils in the blasphemous Beaujolais are excellent - granite-slate-sandy with some admixture of clay in the south, which does not at all prevent the release of bright in their simplicity and weakness of wines from its territory.

A long time ago, when old Europe was still a young red-cheeked girl, Philip IV the Bold ruled in the then kingdom of Burgundy. Despite the fact that everyone was cut out by censorship from the dukes de Armagnac, the counts de Loignac, the marquises de Luignes, the Capetians and other future Valois, they called the kingdom of Burgundy just a duchy, this kingdom, thanks to the holy Catholic faith well rooted on its territory, was densely dotted with monasteries, which in turn, being in form more fortresses than holy cloisters, ensured the complete independence of Burgundy from the petty feudal principalities and kingdoms surrounding it.

So, we say, in those blessed times, Philip the Bold ruled. He was called brave for his military prowess, but we love him not for that at all. Monsignor Philip of Burgundy did perhaps more for world winemaking than anyone else - he ordered Gamay to be cut down in all of Burgundy, which had previously dominated the entire territory of the glorious kingdom. Instead of the blasphemous Gamay, Philip chose the magnificent Pinot shone with divine light, leaving the Savoyard variety (and here we are forced to mention that Gamay comes from Savoy) a relatively small area in southern Burgundy, which we now know as Beaujolais. In the future, if our readers are willing to spend time reading notes like these, we will return to the glorious Pinault, and now we will deal more closely with the brainchild of Antichrist named Beaujolais.

Beaujolais. Beaujolais Nouveau. Beaujolais Village. Cru Beaujolais. All these names are directly related to the topic of our conversation. The dogma of faith says that we should be patient as our sufferings increase, for each of them is only a steeper rung on the ladder to Paradise. However, contrary to this dogma, we will begin with the highest suffering that lies ahead of us, namely, Beaujolais Nouveau.

For a long time in the region of Beaujolais there is a tradition of getting drunk to the state of a monk - an Augustinian on the feast of the Holy Gifts (this holiday was canceled by the barbarian government of the First Republic). This tradition dates back to Roman times, and in Beaujolais it acquired a form Bacchic in form and Hermes in content, for the amount of wine drunk on that day undoubtedly makes Bacchus's mouth break into the widest smile, and the amount of money spent on this young wine causes a sardonic smirk on Mercury's lips.

This holiday is celebrated on the third Thursday of November and is called the feast of young wine. Slightly unfermented, but continuing to ferment, Beaujolais Nouveau flows like water and hits the heads of the villagers who are seated at large common tables and snack on fresh sheep's cheese and ham. The feast often continues until the morning, and sometimes smoothly flows into the next day and even night.

So, what attracts inexperienced roosters Beaujolais Nouveau? Firstly, it is an extremely soft, almost incorporeal wine, with a strong aroma of bananas and chewing gum, which is due to the use of a Dutch yeast culture harvested from golden apples, or, simply put, from tomatoes. Although unfermented, Beaujolais Nouveau has a decent strength, not allowing you to stand up after two or three bottles. It should also be mentioned that Beaujolais Nouveau is prohibited from sale after the first of March of the year following the harvest, because there is a very high chance that this unripe wine will turn into vinegar after the period specified in French law. True, the author of this essay once had the opportunity to try Beaujolais Nouveau 2013 in early May 2014, and was very surprised: in extremely rare cases, and even then, only in some bottles, Beaujolais Nouveau can move to a qualitatively different stage and approach Beaujolais Village . It is impossible to predict this transformation until the bottle is opened, and therefore we do not recommend readers to spend time and money searching for such bottles. Now if the reader will deign to follow us in our narrative, we will move on to the next category - the basic Beaujolais.

So Beaujolais. Its main difference from the previous exhibit is that the Beaujolais is fermented to the end, so the timing of its implementation significantly exceeds the Beaujolais Nouveau. Beaujolais also acquires a somewhat greater body, losing the primary girly fruitiness, acquiring a berry-floral instead ( berries plus peony, narcissus, acacia) remaining, however, just as uninteresting, plain wine. There is no reason to argue that Beaujolais can be harder than regular table wine, even though it has an AOC category. We have examples of miserable wines of the highest category all over the world, and, above all, in Italy, where Asti, Chianti and other rabble have the DOCG status.

The next lot in our little auction is Beaujolais Village. This wine almost completely loses its taste and structure lightness, becomes denser than its own aroma and, as a result, is rarely well balanced. Aromatics are often plum, interspersed with strawberry-currant tones, the wine is practically not capable of developing in the glass. Speaking of the technical side of things (and we are obliged to mention it, despite the poetic and speculative nature of our story), in Beaujolais Village for the first time there is such a thing as the control of yield and harvest time. Both of these things, excellent in themselves, give almost no results in Beaujolais, except to count as a positive result an increase in the intensity of the berry dominant.

And, finally, as a logical conclusion of our conversation, let's talk a little, trying not to fall into the sin of foul language, about Cru Beaujolais.

Cru Beaujolais is the best of the worst, may the reader forgive us such a free oxymoron. Wines from the top ten vineyards, from different terroirs, and with more or less different characters. Of these, we are only interested in three Moulin a Vent, Morgon, Fleurie. The first is the best Cru Beaujolais, the most structured and the most intense and complex of the ten. A really powerful, but too dense structure allows us to talk about the potential of ten or twelve years, and the aromatics already have some complexity. Morgon has the distinction, and if you like, the advantage over the rest of the Beaujolais cru, being the longest aged wine, with a potential of up to twenty years. This is where its merits end. Fleurie is Saint Julien from Beaujolais - that is, it is the most feminine, delicate and gentle.

Now, with the silent consent of the reader, let's draw a line to our reflections. Beaujolais is a bright, simple, straightforward wine that is good to drink on the spot and with the same local cuisine, which makes it similar to the basic Chianti, and such a comparison does not paint either wine. The pitiful attempts of marketers to create a buzz around Beaujolais Nouveau and present as something unique Cru Beaujolais fully corresponds to the essence of their profession.

Everyone knows about Burgundy - the notorious historical region of France. How many wonderful drinks the local winemakers gave to the world. But one of the regions of this wine-growing province cannot boast of good climatic and soil conditions for growing vines, and its name is Beaujolais.

In this region, winegrowers would be better off growing apples, but how could it be, a part of Burgundy without its own special wine? Local farmers found a solution and chose the most unpretentious Gamay grape for planting. This variety has some advantages:

• Unpretentious.
• Ripens early.
• Brings a lot of harvest.

Gamay grapes begin to be harvested at the end of August, while other varieties ripen only in October. In addition to the advantages, "Gamay" has a significant disadvantage, which should repel winemakers, namely, drinks from such grapes cannot be stored for a long time. In half a year, all the wine must be sold and drunk, otherwise all the work was in vain. If other wines only get better with age, gradually revealing their taste, then for Beaujolais time plays a disservice.

Winemakers in the Beaujolais region have no problem selling their early young wine Beaujolais nouveau, as a young wine day allows you to sell almost the entire drink!

Millions of people not only in France, but all over the world every year anxiously wait for the third Thursday of November to visit the largest Beaujolais festival. This is the day of young wine in France, which, despite its popularity, still causes controversy among consumers. Someone thinks that young wine is an unusual and unique drink, which deserves a holiday in honor of its unique taste. Other people say Beaujolais day is just a highly successful marketing ploy by Burgundy winegrowers that helps them make big profits every year by selling a mediocre drink to an inexperienced public.

Of course, no one can judge the sides of this heated dispute. Each person has the right to decide for himself which explanation is closer to him. But still, no one can argue with the fact that the Beaujolais holiday is a wonderful tradition, which is one of the main decorations of the amazing country of France. Every year, Beaujolais Day brings together many people with one goal - to visit as many pubs as possible and drink at least a glass in each unusual young French wine.

History of appearance

The celebration of the new harvest of Beaujolais began in France recently, around the middle of the twentieth century. Thanks to the wonderful taste of young wine and its unique atmosphere, this holiday in such a short time was able to gain recognition not only in France, but throughout the world. Thanks to this, New Harvest Day has become a global tradition.

The start of the celebration begins with the small town of Beaujo, where the Burgundian winemakers, armed with burning torches, march in a single formation to the main square of the city, where everyone is already waiting barrels of wine from the new Beaujolais vintage.

The Day of Young Wine is a grandiose celebration, it pleases and amazes everyone who comes with its scale. Exactly at midnight, the barrels are uncorked and everyone can fill their glass with a delicious and unusual drink. You can easily guess how events develop further, but it’s still better to visit this gorgeous and exciting festival once than hear or read about it a hundred times. There are no analogues to this event all over the world, except perhaps a beer festival in Germany, called Oktoberfest might come to mind.

Already, many fans of Beaujolais Nouveau are in anticipation of the celebration, which will take place on the sixteenth of November in two thousand and seventeen and on the fifteenth of November in two thousand and eighteen.

Beaujolais nouveau, or Beaujolais Nouveau in French, is an amazing young wine created in Burgundy from Gamay grapes. "Gamay" is an early ripe black grape that gives drinks a unique aroma and ruby ​​​​color. Sommelier, tasting the young Beaujolais distinguish the following notes of such berries in it:

• Red currants.
• Raspberry.
• Cherry

Beaujolais Nouveau is distinguished by tart notes and has a twelve percent fortress.

There has been a lot of controversy around the taste of this drink for a long time. They are caused by the age of the wine, because Beaujolais nouveau goes on sale immediately after fermentation ends. That is, between the harvest and the appearance of the drink on sale, literally a month and a half passes. For wines, this state of affairs seems more than unusual.

Nevertheless, Beaujolais nouveau has a multi-million army of fans who adore this drink for its unusually light, but slightly harsh taste.

Manufacturing

To create a great wine Beaujolais Nouveau, bunches with whole grapes are placed in special tanks, and then filled with carbon dioxide. This is done in order to extract grape juice from the berries without any additional influences. This process is called carbonic or carbonic maceration. It lasts five to six days. After the end of maceration, the juice is filtered, and the skins of the berries are driven through a press so as not to miss a single drop of liquid.

After that, the future wine proceeds to the next stage - fermentation, that is, fermentation. It lasts a very short time, about twenty-five to thirty-five days. When the wine has finished fermenting, it is immediately bottled, labeled and sent for sale.

The most common brands of young wine are:

• Albert Bisho.
• Domain Yvon Metras.
• Georges Duboeuf.
• Louis Jadot.
• Jean-Paul Thevenet.

How to drink young wine Beaujolais

Beaujolais is a wine with a short shelf life. All lovers of this unusual drink they know that it can only last four to six months from the date of readiness, and then it will become unusable and it will no longer be possible to drink it. Therefore, if you have purchased this wine and decided to let it brew in order to improve the taste, you know, you should never do this. Otherwise, your French young wine festival will end before it starts.

Also pay attention to the production time even when buying a drink. Real Beaujolais wine is sold only until the first spring month following the year of manufacture.

Before proceeding with the tasting of Beaujolais Nouveau, it should be cooled to twelve or thirteen degrees Celsius and poured into classic wine glasses. In such cases, you can fully experience the taste of the drink and enjoy its astringency, lightness and versatility, which have already conquered many people.

What to drink Beaujolais with

In France, they are accustomed to attribute Beaujolais to versatile drinks that can be drunk in the morning, afternoon and evening, at lunch or dinner, at romantic events and in a friendly atmosphere. Therefore, there are a great many varieties of snacks for this wine.

But like everyone good wine at Beaujolais There are a few traditional dishes, which are usually served when drinking this drink. These include:

Fans of Beaujolais Nouveau recommend those who decide to try this wine for the first time to start tasting with Beaujolais Village. This drink is bright pleasant taste and rich aroma, suitable for various snacks, and will also come in handy at any celebration.

I tried many different wines in my life, the turn came to Beaujolais Nouveau. After the first glass, I decided that I expected more from French wine. After the second tasted and realized that the drink is not for everyone. In general, I was more than satisfied, the wine is universal and I think it will go well with almost any snack.

But at first my woman did not like Beaujolais, as she is a big lover of sweets, and it is sour and bitter. But drinking their favorite cake for her turned out to be quite a pleasant experience, so I think that by the next romantic evening we will take another bottle.

We accidentally learned that all of Europe celebrates the day of the young wine Beaujolais nouveau in autumn. I was very surprised that there is such a drink made from grapes that does not adorn age. So we decided to buy and try.

On the bottle it was indicated that the wine has berry notes. I can’t call myself a connoisseur of such drinks, but I didn’t feel anything like that. Beaujolais is not very sweet, with sourness, but I do not like sugary drinks. It’s bad, of course, that such wine can only be bought in winter and autumn, since I really liked it.

Beaujolais Nouveau is a very boozy wine. Even I need a bottle to feel ready. This is my wife's favorite wine, so in the autumn-winter season it is often on our table. She even adds it to marinades, and it turns out very well.

I, as an old school person, cannot understand the fact that wine can be stored for only five months, if not less. But this is an insignificant minus, in general, the drink is good and makes me very happy with its democratic price.

and Beaujolais Nouveau

Beaujolais(Beaujolais) legally belongs to the wine province of Burgundy, but at the same time does not lose its originality, which is fully confirmed by traditions. Evidence of this is the active distribution on the market of wines produced here, known throughout the world. Few people still do not know about the happy holiday of the young Beaujolais - « » which is celebrated every third Thursday of November.

Beaujolais, the southern gate of Burgundy, covers an area of ​​23,000 hectares, covering 96 communes belonging to the departments of Saone-et-Loire and Rhone. The length of the region from north to south is 50 km, the average width is 15 km.

The difference between Beaujolais and its famous neighbors is already noticeable in the landscapes. Smooth, almost straight slopes disappear here, but various hills and hollows appear, pleasing the eye with sun-drenched slopes; flat tiles on the roofs give way to Romanesque, giving the houses a "southern" look.

The territory narrows in its northern part. The river Arlois flows there, as if separating Maconnay.

In the very east there is a plain where the majestic Sona sparkles with bends. Julius Caesar said that "its course is so slow that the eye can hardly distinguish in which direction it is moving."

To the west are the Beaujolais mountains, the first spurs of the Massif Central. The highest point is Mount Saint-Rigo (1012m), which separates, like a frontier pillar, the regions of Saone and Loire.
And, finally, Lyon vineyards are spread in the south, leading to the center of the region, which is washed, as you know, by “three rivers”: Rhone, Sona, and ... Beaujolais!

Undoubtedly, Beaujolais wines owe much to Lyon, since to this day they are bought by the famous Lyon bistros - “bouchons”, which became the preferred market for Beaujolais after the heyday of vineyards in the 18th century. Two centuries earlier, the status of the capital passed from Beaujeu (who gave the name of the region) to Villefranche-sur-Saone. The skillful and wise rulers of God were able to achieve the expansion and prosperity of their possessions, inspired by the power of their illustrious neighbors - the counts De Macon and De Forez, the abbots of Cluny and the archbishops of Lyon.

The rapid development of vineyards was facilitated by the entry of Beaujolais into the top five large royal farms, partially exempt from duties on the transportation of goods to Paris (carried out for a long time through the Briare Canal).

Currently, Beaujolais produces an average of 1,400,000 hl of typical red wines (white wine is produced in extremely limited quantities), but - this is the main difference from Burgundy wines - almost exclusively from the Gamay noir variety.

The wines produced are divided into three appellations: Beaujolais, Beaujolais Superior and Beaujolais Village, as well as belonging to the ten "cru": Brouilly, Côte de brouilly, Chenas, Chirouble, Fleury, Morgon, Julienas, Moulin-à-van, Saint-Amour and Rainier.

The Beaujolais and Beaujolais Village appellations can be assigned to red, rosé and white wines, while the Beaujolais Superière appellation is valid only for red and white wines.

The name "cru" is given only to red wines that can legally be claimed as Bourgogne appellation, with the exception of the last one, Rainier.

On both sides of an imaginary line through Villefranche-sur-Saone. Traditionally, North Beaujolais and South Beaujolais are distinguished.

The variety of sepages in Beaujolais is very weak: almost 99% of the area is occupied by the Gamay noir variety. In everyday speech, this variety is often referred to as "Gamay Beaujolais". Driven out of Côte d'Or by the decree of King Philip the Bold, who in 1395 called him a "very treacherous plant" (probably compared to Pinot Noir), Gamay Noir adapts to different soils and grows in different climates.

Remarkably established in the Beaujolais land, the game noir vines have characteristic drooping branches and need support for the first ten years to form. Therefore, in the north of the region one can see allotments with poles-supports. This variety is very sensitive to spring frosts, as well as to the main pests and diseases of the vine. The buds may open early, at the end of March, but most often this happens in the second week of April. Therefore, a local saying goes: "If the vine shines on St. George, then the grapes will ripen in time." Flowering occurs in the first half of June, and grape harvest begins in mid-September.

Other sepages of the appellation include Pinot Noir, which produces red and rosé wines, Chardonnay and Aligote, which produces white wine. Until 2015, a threshold of 15% of all sepages is set for allotments of Pinot Noir; replanting in the vineyards of seedlings of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, as well as Chardonnay, Melon and Aligote in the amount of 15% is allowed for the production of red and rosé wines.

All wines in Beaujolais are produced according to the same principle: respect for the integrity of the bunch, combined with a short maceration (from three to seven days, depending on the type of wine). This method combines classical alcoholic fermentation in 10-20% of the total volume of must obtained in the vat and intracellular fermentation, as a result of which the malic acid contained in the grapes is split and specific aromas appear.

Thanks to this technology, Beaujolais wines acquire a special texture and a special aromatic palette, which is enhanced or replenished with new shades, depending on the terroir. It also shows why it is so difficult to ensure the perfection of ecological work: the change in the volume of wort relative to the total volume is different in each case.

Schematically, Beaujolais wines can be described as dry, low tannins, flexible, fresh, very aromatic, with an alcohol content of 12°-13°.

One of the features of the Beaujolais vineyards is the use of share-cropping inherited from the past: the harvest and some expenses are divided equally between the tenant and the owner, who provides land, housing, vats and large wine-making equipment, as well as processing substances and seedlings. But the terms of the contract may be different. The vintner or tenant-shareholder who owns the vineyard tool provides the labor force, bears the costs associated with harvesting, and keeps the vines in perfect condition.

Share-share contracts, which come into effect on St. Martin's Day (November 11), are attractive to many farmers. This system exploits 46% of the area, competing with direct use (45%). 9% of the area is leased for a cash payment.

You can often meet land users who are both owners of several allotments and sharecroppers. Typical Beaujolais farms occupy 7-10 hectares. In the cru zone, where share-cropping prevails, there are smaller areas, and in the south, where mixed crops are cultivated, they are larger. Nineteen cooperative cellars produce 30% of the total volume of produced wines.

The right to be called “wine primer” or “new wine” is given only to rosé and red wines of the Beaujolais and Beaujolais village appellations. These wines, originally made from grapes grown on the granite sands of some areas of Beaujolais Village, are vinified after a short maceration of about four days, and as a result the wine acquires a delicate character, pleasant fluidity, not too bright color and fruity aromas, such as ripe banana. Regulations specify analytical standards and requirements for bringing products to market. Starting on the third Thursday of November, these young wines are considered ready for tasting around the world.

From December 15, after analysis and tasting, all other AOC Beaujolais wines begin to go on sale. Sales of these wines reach their peak after Easter. The wines of the Beaujolais region are not intended for long storage. But if in most cases they are drunk within two years after harvest, the best samples can be evaluated even after 10 years. The appeal of these wines lies in their freshness, refined aromas, with hints of flowers - peony, rose, violet, iris, as well as fruits - apricot, cherry, peach and red berries.

Based on materials from the Hachette guide

Beaujolais Nouveau

Beaujolais Nouveau(Beaujolais Nouveau) is the name given to the wines of Beaujolais and Beaujolais Village, which go on sale immediately after harvest. Perhaps the most famous wine from the game variety.

This thin red wine with aromas of fruits and berries - the first in a series of vintages of French wines - every year bursts into the international market with a bang.

A simple wine made from freshly harvested grapes quenched the thirst of Beaujolais winemakers for centuries at the end of the harvest year, but did not go beyond Beaujolais until the middle of the 20th century. After the Second World War, following changes in the appellation rules, young Beaujolais began to be widely sold throughout France. His appearance was often accompanied by the slogan "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!" “Young Beaujolais has arrived!”

Beaujolais vintners quickly grasped the marketing potential of the country's first vintage and made a big splash out of the race to bring the first bottle of the new vintage to Paris, starting to promote the nouveau style, which aroused interest not only in France but also abroad. In the 1970s and 80s, the idea of ​​Beaujolais Nouveau became an international wine phenomenon, especially popular in the USA, Japan and Germany.

According to French law, the sale of new wine can begin no earlier than the first minute after midnight on the third Thursday in November.

Wine Beaujolais Nouveau It is made from the Gamay variety and can be red or pink (rose). This does not apply, of course, to Beaujolais Blanc wines.

The color of Beaujolais Nouveau is bright, with a purple tint. The aroma is often compared to cherry caramels, red plums, bananas and even chewing gum.

Beaujolais Nouveau is produced in a special way - carbon dioxide maceration, which results in a light-bodied wine, almost devoid of tannins. Such wine is not suitable for storage and even more so for aging.

Much of Beaujolais Nouveau is made from grapes grown in southern Beaujolais, in the plains south of León. For more serious wines, Beaujolais uses grapes from the hilly northern part of the region.

In the southern, or "lower" (Ba Beaujolais, Bas Beaujolais), part of the region, there is more clay in the soil, and it does not warm the vineyards as well as the drier granite soils in the northern part. Therefore, grapes grown in the south do not have sufficient bouquet complexity at the end of ripening. But at the same time, it is more watery and fruity, which is more suitable for the Beaujolais Nouveau style. However, "nouveau" can also be produced within the Beaujolais Village appellation, which is assigned to the vineyards of the northern part of Beaujolais.

Grapes for Beaujolais must be harvested by hand. There are only two regions in France where manual collection is mandatory. The second such region is Champagne.

The term "Nouveau"(fr. new) applies not only to the wines of Beaujolais, for which he is famous. Wine in the style of "nouveau" is also made in the Macon and Ventoux appellations. The term primeur is similar in meaning to nouveau, but is rarely used in this context.

Today, the popularity of Beaujolais Nouveau is not what it used to be, as consumers have begun to prefer more complex wines. Since the 1980s, sales of Beaujolais Nouveau have declined quite significantly. However, about half of all Beaujolais wines are still sold as Nouveau.

Sourced from wine-searcher.com

Let's guess: you also belong to the same category of "connoisseurs of haute cuisine”, for which the word “Beaujolais”, if familiar, is only in combination with the word “Nouveau”. Well, like a young wine. Kind of like French. If yes, then now you (as well as ourselves a week ago) will open a brave new world.

So, 10 facts about Beaujolais wines, the knowledge of which, quite possibly, will color your life with completely new colors.

Beaujolais - as is often the case with wine - is the name of a region. Indeed, in France. The name "Beaujolais" itself comes from the town of Beaujoux, founded in the 10th century. The first vineyards in this region appeared in the 9th century. Wine made from local Gamay grapes is now highly praised by the world's leading wine critics, because for last years happened here real revolution wine quality. The "youth" inherent in them is connected precisely with the peculiarity of the variety - the wines from it are obtained already very bright, complex and deep, in order to still let them mature in the cellar, usually relying on 10-15 years.

One of the key things to know and say out loud about Beaujolais wines is that they are amazingly gastronomic. Gamay wines are almost universal in terms of the palette of food pairings - organic with meat, fish, soup, dessert, and everything else. In other words, if there is a risk of goofing up with the choice of wine for an important dinner, Beaujolais will be the best and win-win option.

Beaujolais can be white, and pink, and, as most often happens, red.

Beaujolais has a unique vinification method that is not widely used anywhere else in the world. It's called carbonic maceration. The technique is thought out so that the entire fermentation is explosive in nature - the juice quickly takes away all the fruitiness, but does not have time to extract tannins from the skin, which is especially useful for wine that is drunk young. In general, if the opportunity arises, remember - the trick of Beaujolais is the absence of tannins.

Beaujolais wines are one of the best picks in the ratio "price - quality". Objectively: wines from more expensive price categories, as a rule, have the same high taste and aroma characteristics that Beaujolais receives from connoisseurs.

If you want to show off your erudition, say the word "cru" in the context of Beaujolais. What is a cru? These are ten designated zones in the north of the region, where soil and microclimate features make it possible to make wines of the highest quality. All cru are very different, and venerable sommeliers can talk for hours about the specifics of each, but we can remember the key: cru is a kind of cream of the whole category.

A bit of mythology in the subject to enhance the charm. According to the legends of those places, the Crusaders went to the Promised Land not at all for the Holy Grail, but for new grape varieties, among which was Gamay. From ourselves, we note the everyday plausibility of this version of events.

In Beaujolais, most of the vineyards are small plots (from 1 to 12 hectares) owned by independent growers who sell their harvest to merchants. However, the number of small farms bottling wines under their own brand is growing, and this is one of the factors of the qualitative revolution in the region.

The Beaujolais Vineyard Road passes between 150 castles and 177 wine cellars, which are happy to welcome all travelers. During the year, more than 20 festivals and holidays of wine and food are held in the region, where everyone can taste the wines of all communes, communicate with winemakers and generally join the general festivities.

And finally, if they force you to name all the passwords-appearances, about specific names. Let's simplify our task: in general strokes, all Beaujolais wines can be divided into three categories. For passionate natures - "powerful and strong" wines, for example (well, suddenly remember something) Chena, Côte de Brouilly, Julien, Morgon and Moulin-à-Van. For romantics - "thin and fragrant": Chiruble, Fleury, Rainier, Saint-Amour. And finally, for real gourmets - "delicate and fruity" like Beaujolais Village.

Beaujolais nouveau hits the shelves on the same day every year, on the third Thursday of November. Beaujolais is made from the Gamay grape. This variety is considered far from the most noble and prestigious. And yet every year throughout Europe, and especially in France, a bottle of young wine is opened on the appointed day. And for how many years we have been drinking Beaujolais Nouveau. Let's find out more about this holiday and wine!

All the cons of Beaujolais Nouveau

In addition to the variety, vinification, that is, the production process itself, is also a problem. Obviously, two months is too short a time for quality wine. For comparison: some aged wines are allowed to be released to the market only after 5-6 years! But Beaujolais Nouveau still has to be delivered to more than a hundred countries on both sides of the Atlantic! So in its manufacture, accelerated technology is used. As a result, the wines are sweet in aroma, but almost without tannins on the palate. Relatively high acidity gives them freshness. Drinking such wines is easy, and many people like the aromas of candied fruit, berries, banana and even chewing gum.

A bit of geography and history

Not everyone knows that Beaujolais is a region of Burgundy, located in its southernmost part. That is, God nouveau is a “relative” of perhaps the most expensive wines on the planet. True, Burgundians from more prestigious wine-growing regions do not like to remember this. Beaujolais, on the contrary, tries to get closer to his eminent relatives in order to give himself significance.

One way or another, Beaujolais claims to be mass and affordable wines.

The phrase "Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived" was also not born yesterday. In those days there was no wine press, so people in the cities had little idea of ​​what was going on with the peasants. And when the first barrels of wine from the new crop arrived (often along the rivers on barges, and even on wagons), the cries of “The wine has arrived!” and really announced the city. People rejoiced: the grapes were born, the wine was made, which means that the peasants are all right. After all, wine then was more than alcohol: it was the safest drink, since the water in cities was often of terrible quality. So "Beaujolais has arrived" is great!

Young wine time

By the way, initially the earliest date when Beaujolais Nouveau could be released for sale was December 15th. Due to the Second World War, which affected the whole of Europe, in 1951 the date was shifted by a month, to November 15th.

Today, Beaujolais Nouveau is usually exported and delivered to stores in advance, and they start selling on the same day around the world.

And in 2005, the slogan had to be changed. Apparently, it is difficult for some nations to pronounce the French Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé (it reads “le Beaujolais Nouveau et arrivé” with accents on the last syllables), therefore today in English-speaking countries they most often say: It's Beaujolais Nouveau time (that is, “Beaujolais Nouveau time”) .

In Beaujolais itself, a five-day festival takes place at this time, and in Lyon, the night sky is lit up with fireworks.

To drink or not to drink

Whether to drink Beaujolais Nouveau, everyone decides for himself. The wine is really too simple, but understandable. Yes, it's definitely overrated. But it makes it possible to feel belonging to a global event. Not without reason, in countries where large-scale events are traditionally loved, Beaujolais Nouveau is still in great demand. For example, the Japanese love it, who, as you know, easily "import" the holidays of other countries. It is no less valuable for those regions where Beaujolais Nouveau gets a little bit.

The main thing is to remember one thing: Beaujolais Nouveau is a young wine, and it is designed to be drunk quickly, maximum within a year. If you want to touch the tradition, buy a bottle and drink right away! There is absolutely no point in preserving Beaujolais Nouveau, let alone aging it! And by the way, according to experts, compared to last year, this Beaujolais Nouveau will be less acidic and softer.

Don't forget to snack!

A treat, that is, an appetizer, for Beaujolais Nouveau should be a match for him: simple and unpretentious. The French serve with young wine caillette - something like jelly from pork, liver, heart with the addition of beet tops, celery and garlic.

It is also good to serve game with Beaujolais. Any, especially since now is the hunting season.

Of the cheeses, the best combination would be goat or camembert with a soft crust.