I drank an excellent Beaujolais nouveau on November 21st, and I’m sure many of our readers did, too. There is a cautious optimism among Beaujolais growers. Indeed, the Beaujolais nouveau celebration isn’t what it was even if Japan is doing its best to keep the tradition alive.
The wine shops in France still proudly announce with a sign that “Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé” The glory days are over, but that does not mean that Beaujolais Nouveau is down for the count. Demand and price have stabilised, both at home and in the export market where, as mentioned, Japan is a big customer.
15 million bottles of Beaujolais nouveau went on sale on November 21 in 110 different countries. Roughly 50% of the production was exported this year.
Beaujolais nouveau as a phenomenon was created in 1951, and until 1967, the official launch day was November 15. However, this created administrative problems when the 15th happened to be on a Saturday or a Sunday. In 1985 it was decided that Beaujolais nouveau would always be launched on the third Thursday of November. Beaujolais nouveau accounts for 30% of Beaujolais’ total volume.
Read more: Vitisphere
