Happy Beaujolais Day 2021!
Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! It’s officially Thanksgiving season when Beaujolais Nouveau arrives! Beaujolais Nouveau is made from the fruity and flirty red grape of Gamay, which grows in the southern part of Burgundy, France and throughout other parts of the world. Nouveau is not meant to age in your cellar. It’s a bottle of wine ready to party so drink up! There’s a lot of ubiquitous, mass-produced Nouveau out there, but not the Beaujolais Nouveau that we carefully choose for you every year. This is the good stuff, the real deal, and as you sip you’ll be transported to France. The French take Gamay quite seriously for such a lighthearted red wine. Every year, Beaujolais Nouveau is released at 12:01AM on the third Thursday of November, just weeks after the arduous grape harvest. Festivals commence throughout France with dancing, music, fireworks and endless pours of Beaujolais Nouveau. Celebrate November with your Beaujolais Nouveau in hand!
The Charmer
2021 Pierre-Marie Chermette, ‘Les Griottes’ Beaujolais Primeur
Domaine Chermette is located in Saint-Vérand in the Mâconnais bordering southern Beaujolais. The family run estate in this small village produces a charming and cuvée of Gamay with aromas of crushed violet petals and a light, tart blueberry and blackberry flavors.
The Adventurer
2021 Rémi Dufaitre, Beaujolais Villages Nouveau
Husband and wife team, Rémi and Laurence Dufaitre organically grow and harvest grapes in the crus of Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly. Their Gamay is made in the classic, carbonic style using whole bunches, which are carefully sorted and crushed before being fermented in concrete tanks. The result is a bouquet of wildflowers, slight barnyard and rustic aromas. Its bright red cherry fruit and sharp acidity will invoke the adventurous wild child in you.
The Wild Card
2021 Las Jaras, Slipper Sippers Nouveau
So it’s not French, nor Gamay, but it is apropos for your Thanksgiving table. Eric Wareheim and Joel Burt’s 2021 Nouveau from Mendocino, CA is made from a blend of Valdiguié, Zinfandel, and Petite Syrah. Eric and Joel use the classic Beaujolais technique of whole cluster and carbonic maceration to coax out buoyant purple fruit all while maintaining freshness and acidity. These two Californian dudes sure do know how to make wild party juice.
(Also Eric Wareheim’s new cookbook Foodheim is SO GOOD. We highly recommend purchasing a copy for yourself and for your besties.)