On the stroke of midnight on the third Thursday of November each year, (this year, the 17th, TODAY!) Beaujolais Nouveau is celebrated by drinking the wine from grapes harvested this past summer. This is the third really high quality vintage in a row!
Beaujolais Nouveau is a young red wine made from handpicked Gamay grapes grown in the Beaujolais region of France, where the beverage accounts for half of the region's production. While most red wines improve with age, Beaujolais Nouveau is all about freshness.
Under French law, the wine may be released at 12:01 a.m. on the third Thursday of November, just weeks after the wine's grapes have been harvested. Fermentation is so short that the resulting wine exhibits fruity flavors and light tannins. Beaujolais Nouveau should be consumed right away (or within a year of being made), and is best served slightly cooled.
So Worldwide, this years Beaujolais, as of today, has been released for consumption. And tonight I have a ticket to attend such a "release party" in downtown Rochester. Am looking forward to enjoying, this, my favorite wine.
During July and mid August the vineyards enjoyed fair weather with a mix of very nice sunny periods and light rain, perfect weather for the Gamay grapes, which make up this wine. It was said, that the grapes for this year's Beaujolais were healthy with thick skins and dark fruit, with a good balance sugar-acidity, similar to the 2009 which was quite a good year.
A very nice crop was expected, which had a good yield similar to the 2010 vintage.
The harvest began in mid-August this year and was over by the 26th of September, earlier than expected.
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