What is Beaujolais nouveau and why should I celebrate its arrival?

For centuries, producers in the Beaujolais area of France celebrated the end of harvest by drinking young wine made from grapes harvested just a few months earlier. The practice spread to nearby Lyon, where jugs of the new wine would be sold directly from the barrel in the many of the bouchons or bistros in the city. Soon there were joyous parties every year in Paris and other cities.

In the 1960s, wine merchants from Paris would race home with the first Beaujolais. In the 1980s, some canny producers saw a marketing opportunity and began offering nouveau (or new) wine to their customers in various countries. Importers began to compete with each other to be the first to bring home the new wine.

Tragically, here in Ireland, in 1984 a group of nine importers, journalists, and restaurateurs died when the light plane they were flying crashed on its way back from France. Understandably, Beaujolais nouveau was not celebrated here for many years afterwards. More recently, a new generation has revived the occasion, importing the new wines and holding semi-organised parties or special restaurant evenings.

All red Beaujolais is made from the gamay grape, the perfect variety for drinking young as it has very light tannins and plenty of fruit. The wine is made using whole berry fermentation (also known as carbonic maceration) which releases the fruit flavours without any of the drying tannins. Good Beaujolais nouveau is deliciously light and fruity – the perfect party wine, drunk lightly chilled alongside some saucisson, cheese and crusty bread. The French would call it glou glou or glug glug wine. Mass-produced nouveau is usually less exciting.

For David Gallagher of Green Man Wines in Terenure, Dublin 6W, the third Thursday in November is one of the best days of the year.

“We try to capture some of the energy and fun of the release of the new wines from Beaujolais, replicating the parties held throughout France,” he says. “A new wave of small producers are making wines full of life, energy and joy – not the most serious of wines but incredibly ‘smashable’ and enjoyable.”

Green Man works with six different Beaujolais producers and offers an array of wines from €22 upwards.

“We’ll be donning our berets, Breton tops and blasting out Edith Piaf and Vanessa Paradis [Joe le Taxi] on the day, with a busy, slightly chaotic day in the wine bar, spilling out on to the street,” Gallagher says.

Green Man has been celebrating Beaujolais nouveau for 15 years now, and others have followed. L’Atitude 51 in Cork holds a party for 120 people in The Apple Market. A ticket for €50 gets you some food and five wines to wash it down. See latitude51.ie for details.

The main importer of low-intervention Beaujolais nouveau is lecaveau.ie, which has at least79 customers for it this year.

Otherwise, you will find the Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau in O’Briens and independent wine shops around the country.

Why not see if anyone is partying in your neighbourhood on 19th November?