Few wines are anticipated like Beaujolais nouveau, that purple-y, peppery elixir that is born in France of the Gamay grape. That's in part due to Beaujolais and Thanksgiving going hand-in-hand in people's minds, and the fact that the wine keeps to the same annual release date: the third Thursday in November. It's like Beaujolais nouveau's birthday, and how do we thank it, year after year? By drinking it right down, and then sighing with satisfaction. Cruel, deliciously cruel.
Wine havens and other institutions around Los Angeles will be toasting the event with specials and tastings; Beaujolais Passions at the Petersen Automotive Museum is but un grand boum on Thursday, November 19th, 2009. Another major soiree is the Francophone Fest at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, also on Thursday, November 19th.
So, what's the deal? First off, there are several labels that turn out the Beaujolais nouveau, so the prices vary, meaning that picking one up for that Thanksgiving Eve appetizer party you've committed to won't be too painful in le pocketbook.
Two, it's a seasonal tradition, like those platters of over-fried hot-wing platters that seem to spring up everywhere just before Superbowl Sunday, so picking up a bottle during the next week feels like the appropriate thing to do.
And three, it's yummy. "Deeply yummy" and "tickly to the tongue in a yummy way" are some words we've used in the past while drinking it. We're wishing now we'd thrown in "leatherishly oaky" or "like butter on hot corn" but we clearly weren't on the ball at the time.
Beaujolais c'est (almost) arrive!
