Celebrate the First Wine of Harvest

The third Thursday of every November, the 16th this year, Beaujolais Nouveaux will arrive at your local wine shop. “C'est Arrive! will be on banners or on boxes announcing the arrival. There will be celebrations through Europe and some here in the United States. (check out www.tripsavvy.com/beaujolais-nouveau-events)

Beaujolais Nouveaux is a festival in a bottle that offers delightful red berry flavors and fun texture for a great price. It is a wine created to celebrate the end of harvest and give us a glimpse into the vintage in barrel. Beaujolais Nouveaux is the first wine of the vintage.

Now, I realize it does not offer the rich, silky tannins and deep brooding flavors of a cabernet sauvignon. It’s not designed to. Beaujolais Nouveaux is created to celebrate, to be fun, light and easily enjoyable. There is no need to seriously swirl, sniff and quaff, just enjoy.

It is made from the grape variety, gamay noir, which grows in the Beaujolais region, located in east central France, at the southern end of Burgundy. A uniquely styled fruity wine, this traditional red wine is a fun addition to the list of wines available for the holidays.

Beaujolais Nouveaux, like most French wines are produced with many guidelines and rules.

• It can be made only from the varietal gamay noir.

• The vines selected for Beaujolais Nouveaux are located only in the Beaujolais Villages region.

• Juice produced in any of the 10 Crus of Beaujolais may not be used for Nouveaux production.

• All berries harvested in the Beaujolais region, must, like Champagne, be picked by hand.

• Beaujolais Nouveaux is meant to be drunk young, by the next spring. However, some vintages, like the 2000 vintage, can hold until the next harvest.

Beaujolais Nouveaux is light and sometimes slightly effervescent. It is not made in the usual way. Winemakers do not crush the berries, collect the juice, add yeast and wait for fermentation to complete. Beaujolais Nouveaux is made using the carbonic maceration method.

If you had the opportunity to enjoy Underwood Rosé from Oregon this summer you enjoyed a wine crafted by the same process.

Carbonic Maceration aka whole-cluster fermentation

In 1872 Louis Pasteur observed that wines held in a carbon dioxide atmosphere developed different flavors and aromas that wines that developed in an air (oxygen) atmosphere. An intact berry, not broken, will begin an intercellular fermentation. This fermentation brings out the distinct flavors and aromas found in Beaujolais Nouveaux.

The process begins by gently placing whole, unbroken clusters into fermentation tanks. There the berries begin to do what they do naturally, change sugar into alcohol. This process can last from one day to two weeks, depending on the wine and the winemaker.

Eventually, the weight from the clusters begin to crush the grapes on the bottom, thus introducing oxygen into the juice. The naturally occurring yeast from the skins will mix with the juice and a traditional fermentation begins to take place. The flavors and aromas developed during the anaerobic period will remain with the wine.

The process produces a light-bodied, fruity wine that is meant for early consumption. Beaujolais Nouveaux is generally consumed from release to New Year’s Day. The light, fruity flavors are a wonderful addition to our Thanksgiving Day feast. It pairs beautifully with cranberries, is light enough for white meat, adds dimension to the banquet of dishes we ingest.

When serving Beaujolais Nouveaux, I suggest chilling the bottle to 50 – 55 degrees. Remember, room temperature Beaujolais, France is quite different than room temperature San Antonio, Texas.

Yes, Beaujolais Nouveaux is a wine worth keeping on hand throughout the holidays. It is celebrated in Europe) and hopefully in your house this year.

See you November 16th – C’est Arrivé!

CHEERS!

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