Beaujolais Nouveau is the name given to Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages wines that are released almost immediately after the harvest. Perhaps the most famous expression of the Gamay Grape, these light, Fruity reds are usually the first of the year's harvest in France, and are released each year with great fanfare internationally. For centuries, simple wines made from freshly harvested grapes have quenched the thirst of Vineyard workers at the end of the harvest in Beaujolais, but traditionally they were only distributed locally. Interest in the style spread following the reform of appellation law at the end of the Second World War and by the 1960s the first Beaujolais wines were widely sold throughout France as soon as they were released, often with the announcement "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! Beaujolais producers saw the marketing opportunities in being the first wine of the harvest and a "race" to get the first bottle of wine to Paris was set up by some of the biggest names, promoting the Nouveau style and attracting international interest.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Beaujolais Nouveau became a worldwide phenomenon, with a particular following in the United States, Japan and Germany. By law, sales of this wine are limited until one minute after midnight on the third Thursday in November. Beaujolais Nouveau wines can be red or rosé (the term does not apply to white Beaujolais wines) and are mainly made from the Gamay grape. They are Bright purplish red in colour and have an Aroma often compared to candied cherries, red plums, bananas and even bubblegum.
Latour was the 11th generation of his family to lead Maison Louis Latour (and the seventh named Louis Latour). The house of Latour was formally founded in 1797, although the roots go back to the first vineyards purchased in 1731 by Denis Latour. The Latour family originally worked as coopers, and Denis’ son Jean moved to Aloxe-Corton to set up an independent cooperage and later to found Maison Louis Latour, naming the business after his son. The house of Latour remains closely associated with th ...
According to lifestyle and happiness guru Gretchen Rubin, you ‘bring your own weather to a picnic’. Ms Rubin, I’d suggest, has never shivered under a tree watching raindrops turn her fish-paste sandwich to mush because the weather forecast was wrong. There are, it’s safe to say, picnics and Picnics. It’s a term that takes in everything from a rubber baguette in a French ‘Aire’ off the Autoroute du Soleil to a four-course spread while listening to opera at Glyndebourne. What’s definitely true is ...
Although Cru Beaujolais has been having its moment in the sun for a few years now, its younger, lighter-bodied ‘nouveau’ cousin is coming back into its own. How Beaujolais Nouveau Day started The tradition of Beaujolais Nouveau dates back to the 1800s. Winemakers would bottle their just-fermented wine, produced from grapes harvested just a few months prior, an unusually tight timeframe in winemaking terms. This occasion called for a massive celebration among Beaujolais-based vigneron ...
