From last Thursday banners outside our local wine merchant have proudly declared "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé" ("The New Beaujolais has arrived").
Only in France would the date that a wine is released have been set down in law since 1951, making its official arrival each year an event to be celebrated (the third Thursday in November).
A fresh and fruity red wine, Nouveau Beaujolais is made from Gamay variety grapes, grown in vineyards throughout the Beaujolais appellation, just north of Lyon. But what makes this wine unique in France is that its produced, bottled, and released within just 6-8 weeks of the harvest.
