Beaujolais Nouveau has been quite the hip and niche  thing to celebrate, especially in the past few years.  I’ll admit before the Internet blew up like it had, I only heard about this celebration in passing.  I wasn’t into wine like I am now.  So I thought nothing good or bad of it.  I simply took it for granted.

Then you could say I’ve grown up and matured.  Maybe.

I’ll keep the explanation of this celebration brief. And links have been provided throughout.

The event has been a phenomenon thanks in part to Georges Duboeuf and his marketing and creative labels.  He’s also very passionate about what he does.   He has a gravitas and panache that many of us are capable of having but don’t always push forth on that inspiration.  I know I can attest to that at a multitude of times.

On the third Thursday of every month this wine is released to the public, irregardless of harvest times and meant to be purchased and consumed on that day.

The grapes are anywhere from just six-to-eight weeks old and meant to be drank young.   The wine is made from Gamay grapes and it’s required by law to be picked by hand.   Plenty of information is spread throughout if you want to research further.  But I hope you get the gist of it.

Many folks are purists and feel that this wine should only be drank on this day and not again for another year.  I respect that tradition. However, I like traditions myself.  To me this this is now the (un)official start to the holiday season.  The third Thursday has a ring to it, which of course precedes the 4th Thursday which is this obscure holiday based on giving thanks.  Perhaps you’ve heard of it?

My close friends and I now have a pre-holiday gathering revolving around the celebration of the harvest and Turkey Day.

There’s so many bottles based on this event but for the life of me I always find the same two.  I scour many stores and none seem to get anymore. Perhaps before these wines become too skunked to taste or past its sell by date, I’ll find others to write about.  Which means I have till Spring.  If.

Bottle number one is from the aforementioned Mr. Dubouef himself.   This was fantastic.  And I want to drink it.  My pals felt the same.  There was a sweeter berry then just the cherry.  It wasn’t strawberry.  In doing in a bit of cheating I discovered the winning ingredient was raspberry.  I should have recalled.  I’ve drank this before.  Maybe I was thinking too hard. Maybe I’m over-analyzing.  But I do adore this wine and intend to purchase more bottles over the holidays.

This is a winner and it went perfectly with our cheese and crackers spread before we enjoyed our main course.   The problem (if you can call it that) is we went through this one in no time.  It was meant to be part of our feast as well but we loved it so much it was dismantled in barely half-an-hour. Oops!   This light-bodied goodness can go with anything.  It can be savored alone or with any feast you choose. Have some fun with it.  We did.

There were times I sipped that tasted better than others.  I felt like I was drinking candy and that’s a positive.  It felt like happiness and it felt like the holidays.   I am so happy I chose this bottle to be opened for this gathering of close buds.   It got better with time and I would love to buy another bottle and let it breathe for a few days.   I am salivating at the thought.

Next up is the DeBeaune.  To me this didn’t come close to replicating the DuBouef version. Nor did it have to but it wasn’t even a contest.  I purchased both at the same time since I was indecisive.  I rather have two to compare and contrast anyways.

There’s nothing bad about it.  It just felt like an ordinary table wine to me. However, this would also be great at any party.   I may not have not loved it but I know many who say they enjoyed it more than the DuBouef.

The display at the store was all about this one as opposed to the ‘understated’ DuBouef.  Funny.

I brought it to a friends gathering this past Sunday and I barely got to have some myself.  It was gobbled up in minutes.  So somebody liked it or it was the only bottle opened at the time.  I’ll go with the former on this one and maybe not project so much.

I did my best to enjoy with a wonderful cheese and vegetable platter.

That’s the fun of this journey.  We all will have differing opinions and respect one another’s palate.  In a few weeks my mind could change on one or both.

I am excited as to what the next month will bring in terms of wine and food experiences.  I hope I will be able to expound on the great holiday parties and pairings that are to come.

Tradition might be altered but I believe these and many other wines can be enjoyed whenever you want.  As long as there’s good company, good food, and most of all a good energy around, then I’m all for it.   I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I’d like to thank Total Wine for their assistance last week.

I wish you all a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving.

Take good care.

Best,

Ideen