Skip to content

⚡HOP OPEN ⚡ATURDAY 12-6 EVERY WEEK IN JANUARY - all other times call ⚡imon on 07547645917

French wine merchants

Are You Ready To Celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau Day This Year?

As respected French wine merchants, we are getting ready to celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau Day on 21 November! If this is a new concept for you, here’s a look at what this annual celebration on the third Thursday of every November is all about, and why it’s a special event for wine lovers around the world. 

Introducing Beaujolais Nouveau

As you may already know, Beaujolais is a wine producing region in eastern central France, lying below the Burgundy region. The Beaujolais Nouveau wine is made from Gamay Noir grapes, to produce a light red wine with a low tannin content. The wine has an appealing fruity flavour with overtones of raspberry, cherry, and cranberry. 

The key to the unique flavours of the wine lies in the soil. To the north of the natural boundary created by the Nizerand River, the soil is composed of granite and schist, while to the north the soils are clay based. 

Beaujolais Nouveau is fermented for a shorter time than most red wines, and the fresh fruity flavours are best enjoyed when it is young. It is ideal for casual drinking, because it doesn’t have the astringency and complexity of more mature reds, and you don’t need to be an experienced wine connoisseur to enjoy it to the full. 

The origins of the day

The Beaujolais Nouveau day began as a local festivity, as the vineyard workers celebrated the fruits of their labour with a glass of the fresh red wine. A local wine merchant named George Duboeuf decided that this annual celebration was too good to be kept a local secret, so he used his flair for marketing to create a race to Paris with the first bottles of the year.

Furthermore, in 1951 regulations were passed to prohibit the sale of Beaujolais Nouveau before the third Thursday in November. This created a sense of anticipation around the release date, and kickstarted the wider fame of the young red wine. By the 1970s Beaujolais Nouveau day was a date on the wine lovers’ calendar around the world. 

How to celebrate the day

The day is a perfect excuse for a party, but it’s also an acknowledgement of tradition, thanks for the harvest, and recognition of the skill and manual labour that goes into producing our favourite tipple. You can celebrate the day simply by raising a glass at home. The wine pairs well with a variety of fish, cheese, and poultry dishes.

If you want to make the occasion a little more special, you could organise a soiree with a French theme. Plan some light bites such as a grazing table of charcuterie, cheeses, and roast poultry, and stock up on French wines for a fun tasting session. Your local community might even be holding an organised event, so keep a look out during November. 

Older Post
Newer Post
Close (esc)

SIGN-UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER!

Age verification

By clicking enter you are verifying that you are old enough to consume alcohol.

Search

Shopping Cart

Want to save on delivery costs? Why not collect your order from us!