The 3rd Thursday of November is Beaujolais Nouveau Day, which has historically celebrated the end of Harvest. It also means the arrival of super young, fun and flirty red wines made from the Beaujolais region in Central France.

But is Beaujolais as a category of wine, just about those bubble gum and grape popsicle tasting wines???(which are certainly cheap and cheerful...)

• Get the scoop here on what you might be missing... there are more complex beautiful wines that also come out of that region
• Steal the tips for finding the right ones for you.
• Hear about our Sip Spotlight wine and how to try it for yourself!

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I think this is such a fun

and interesting category of wine, and I know it's very overlooked.

And if you're looking for alternative wines to drink at a great price point, something that's lighter body, lighter tannin, lighter alcohol, these are really fun and exciting.

Hello, welcome

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Nikki Lamberti.

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You all know what gets me excited and what gets me to this microphone every single week.

It's to introduce you all either to someone or something new and exciting.

And this week, it's something, it's a region, it's a type of wine that I believe that most wine drinkers are really not familiar with, and that's Beaujolais, the region within Burgundy.

And coming up on the third Thursday of November is Beaujolais Nouveau Day.

Which is a specific type of wine from this Beaujolais region.

And I feel like this area gets a little bit of hype and a little bit of spotlight every November.

And then it kind of fades away, and I think a lot of people forget about it as a type of wine.

And Beaujolais is a light red wine, it's bright, it's exciting, it has really a spectrum of what it can be depending on the areas that it's from.

This week, I am breaking down, first of all, what is Beaujolais Nouveau, how is it different than traditional Beaujolais that we can get all year round, and why we should be drinking it and what you should be drinking it with.

So here we go with Beaujolais.

So, the third Thursday of November is a holiday, and it is known as Beaujolais Nouveau Day.

And if you happen to be in a wine shop this third Thursday of November, which happens to be the 21st or in the days shortly thereafter, Maybe shopping for some Thanksgiving wine.

You will see a lot of very colorful, eye grabbing, end cap displays with bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau, which are also usually very colorful and fun and dynamic and expressive labels.

Let's talk about what the heck is Beaujolais Nouveau and how is it different than just Beaujolais and why you should be exploring and drinking these wines.

So, Beaujolais is a region in France and it's essentially the southernmost region of Burgundy, which if you are a fan of French Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, you are drinking Burgundy, which is the region.

But in the South is an area known as Beaujolais.

And the main grape grown there is Gamay, which makes a very light red wine.

Not unlike Pinot Noir, which is the primary grape of Burgundy.

It is a lighter color red in the glass because it has thinner skin, which means it has less tannin.

And generally they are bright and fresh, but can Lean on the deeper, richer, more structured end of the spectrum as well, depending on where in the region they're from.

So the first distinction we need to make is what this Beaujolais Nouveau day is celebrating each year.

And really this was essentially a, an effective marketing campaign that really picked up a lot of speed in the sixties and the seventies.

And it was supposed to be celebrating the end of the harvest and taking the gamay grape and bringing it to market very quickly.

Hence the nouveau, new, right?

So when you are purchasing a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau in November, those grapes were only picked in usually the end of August or the beginning of September.

Now for red wine, that's a short runway.

That's a short time.

time window.

Typically, most red wines are going to be at least a year from the pick to the bottle, and most are going to be two or even more years.

So that's the one thing that is very specific to Beaujolais Nouveau.

And the wines that are made in this way are generally described as grapey and flirty and cheap and cheerful.

Some of my favorite wine descriptions and they're yummy and they're fun and they're relatively inexpensive as they should be if they're literally getting to the bottle within a matter of months.

And so these wines, Beaujolais Nouveau, were the introduction for me to the Beaujolais region and in all honesty probably caught my eye when I was living

back in Orlando and shopping in Total Wine and happened to be in there in November looking for Thanksgiving wine and I probably was intrigued and bought some.

What I've learned as I've really dove deeper into the world of wine is that there are three categories or classes of Beaujolais.

You've got Beaujolais aka basic.

You've got Beaujolais village, like villages, village, and then Beaujolais crew.

And they go in that order as far as the perception of quality, because what happens is you go from Category 1 to 2 to 3 to the crew lines.

Crews are basically communes or villages.

They're very specific areas.

And there are 10 of them.

In an order to be labeled with one of those crews on the label, Morgan is one that I'm going to be spotlighting today, M O R G O N, Morgan.

They are from distinct areas that are known for having very specific characters because of the soil and the wind and the sun and the terroir, right?

Gosh, my, my French teacher from high school, Mrs.

Handler, if you're listening, she's cringing at my French pronunciation here.

I'm sorry, Mrs.

Handler, I'm a little rusty, but I'm trying.

Now, all Beaujolais, and one of the things that's very unique about this type of wine, is it's made by a process called carbonic maceration.

Isn't that just fun to say?

Say it again.

Carbonic maceration.

This is a type of fermentation where instead of Instead of de stemming the grapes and lightly penetrating the grapes, which is what we typically do even here in

California, you take the whole clusters of those gamay grapes, you put them into whatever fermenter you're using, could be stainless steel, could be concrete.

And literally the weight of the grapes on the top presses down on the grapes on the bottom.

They start to essentially burst and then spontaneously start fermenting just from native yeast.

We know that fermentation releases co2, so then that co2 is seeping in through the skin of the berries of the grapes on the top, and they're essentially bursting from the inside out.

And the reason people do carbonic maceration and, not just for Gamay, people do it a lot for Pinot Noir as well, is it produces a, very specific style of wine that's really fresh and fruity.

So because of the way that the fermentation is being done, it's preserving a lot of the delicate fruity aromas in a wine.

And it's actually becoming more and more popular.

If you're a regular listener, you've heard a couple of my episodes with Karen McNeil, who is a well known wine writer and the author of The wine Bible, which is sitting here on my desk.

As I record this, Karen was an instructor of mine and my wine certification.

And one of my favorite quotes that Karen says about Beaujolais, it's the only white wine that happens to be red.

So because of the freshness and the vibrancy and the expressiveness of this wine, I think if you were doing a blind tasting and maybe we'll get my friend, Dr.

Hobie Wedler, who also has been in multiple episodes, Hobie is non visual.

He was born blind and he is one of the most amazing tasters of wine because his sensory is just beyond amazing.

And I wonder if I was to give him a glass of Beaujolais like it's sitting in front of me right now and not tell him anything about it And just said, is this wine red or white?

I wondered what he would say Especially on the smell.

If it was one of the Beaujolais crues like the Morgon that I'm tasting right now It's a little structured and there is a little bit of tannin on there, which might be a giveaway That it's not white, but man it'd be hard to tell it mostly because that acidity, that brightness, and that crispness.

And also because most Beaujolais tends to be a little bit lower alcohol, maybe in the 12 and a half to 13 and a half alcohol by volume.

As for food pairings, these wines are really versatile and again, it's going to depend on a Beaujolais Nouveau.

That could be a great aperitif, a great appetizer wine with your cheese board because they're just again so easy to drink and light and fun and be delicious with cheeses.

But as we get into the traditional Beaujolais and Beaujolais Cru, they are a little bit more complex.

Structured, age worthy, and I feel like that could be great on the Thanksgiving table when you're looking for something that pairs not only with the proteins

that you got, if it's turkey, but also the richness of mac and cheese, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole.

Ooh, I'm getting excited for Thanksgiving.

So I think Beaujolais as a whole, as a category of wine, regardless of if it's from Beaujolais Cru, the 10 different communes, just as a whole, I think this is such a fun and interesting category of wine.

And I know it's very overlooked.

And if you're looking for alternative wines to drink at a great price point, something that's lighter body, lighter tannin, lighter alcohol, these are really fun and exciting.

And most good wine shops will have at least a shelf or two, if not a section, within the French wine section of Beaujolais.

Of course, wine.

com has a very extensive selection.

And I'm going to put the link in the show notes.

for Sip Spotlight that I'm about to share with you.

So I've got one of the Beaujolais crew, of course, if I'm going to go for it, I'm going to go for it.

And this is, as I mentioned, from Morgon, M O R G O N, which is the very specific commune or region.

And it's interesting because on the label of this bottle, which is a 2019, Morgon is actually the header, the biggest font on there.

And then very small below it, I actually had to put on my readers, Jean Ernest Ernest Zickholm, Jean Ernest D E S C O M B E S is the producer in the vineyard.

And I'm not going to lie, one of the things that caught my eye with this was the price point was fantastic, right around 30.

And James Tuckling, who is a well known wine critic that I tend to follow and enjoy his recommendations, he gave this 93 points, which is great.

A great guideline, and especially at this price point, really exciting to see.

So when I read more about this producer, one of the things I was excited to see is the second generation from Jeanne Arnest is Nicole.

Shout out to a fellow Nicole in the wine world.

I knew my first name was very French.

Thanks, Mom.

And, She says that her wines express the fruit of Beaujolais and the charm of Burgundy.

And I thought that was an interesting quote because, again, as I mentioned, Beaujolais is considered to be part of Burgundy, but really, They are two different regions that don't have a heck of a lot in common, just as far as the soils and the wines that are coming from there.

So she is using this wine as a bridge between those two regions.

The tasting notes on this bottle, brilliant garnet color.

I agree.

I'm looking at it in my glass right now.

Refined and intense aromas of flowers, black fruit, Kirsch and subtle peach note.

Full bodied, structured, balanced, and clean with soft tannins and a long finish.

On the label, the food pairing suggestion is grilled red meat.

Okay.

Ooh, roasted duck breast and fine cheeses.

I will take all of the above.

So again, this is the 2019.

This is a Beaujolais crew.

Morgon from Jean Ernest Dicombe.

And there is a very popular name also on this.

label, which is George Dubuff, and you will see that on the majority of Beaujolais Nouveau, especially, but just general Beaujolais, because he is a negotiant.

He is, George Dubuff is essentially a producer who works with many different vineyard owners and is very, very Pretty much responsible for bringing a lot of these wines to people like me sitting here in California So thank you for that.

In the glass, it does certainly look like a Pinot Noir Although this one's got some richer color because again, Morgon is known for having a little bit more Structure and deepness.

Can I use the word exciting?

It's just exciting in my mouth again because of the Acidity because of the fruitiness about it, but this has some age.

This is a 2019 again I'm not drinking nouveau, but I love the tannin on this and there is some tannin on this, right?

So it is soft tannin It lands in the bottom of my gums and man a little bit of brie or camembert with this You

Next time you're in your wine shop, check out Beaujolais.

If you'd like to acquire the exact one that I tasted, the Morgana, check the link in the show notes and you can purchase from my affiliate site, wine.

com and they can ship all over the country.

And I also purchased a second one that I'm going to taste and I'll, I'll put that in the show notes as well.

So Beaujolais Nouveau is fun.

But dig a little deeper and I encourage you to try more wines of this region all year round.

So I really encourage you to try some Beaujolais, whether you can find it in your local store or use the links in the show notes that I'll provide for wine.

com and have it shipped.

There's no reason to be drinking just the same wines all the time.

And I think we all get into a comfort zone and in a rut.

But man, if you explore and hopefully the guidance I've given you today gives you a little foundation and makes it feel a little bit less unknown and a little bit less risky, man, sometimes the reward is so unexpected and exciting and just diversifies the joy that is in your glass.

Hey, speaking of joy in your glass, if you haven't grabbed my 2021 Solovato Sangiovese that I make, I can ship to most states.

It is also a beautiful red wine, a little bit more bold than Beaujolais.

but also great on a holiday table because it's a very versatile medium bodied fruity spicy medium tannin wine that's also great all year round with pizza and pasta and cheeses and charcuterie and oh I could go on and on.

Visit solovatowines.

com the link is in the show notes and make sure you use the discount code PODLISTENER for 10 percent off your order.

Go find some Beaujolais, get it in your glass, and as always, sip well.

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