Third Thursday of November

[lagilman]

I have a confession to make: I don't like Beaujolais nouveau. Beaujolais, oui. Beaujolais nouveau, that fresh-off-the-vines spectacle of November, not so much.

There is, I hasten to add, absolutely nothing wrong with it. Gamay is a perfectly nice grape. The Beaujolais nouveau is a light, fruity, easy-to-quaff wine that a lot of people really enjoy drinking, and the idea of a low-priced wine that you drink immediately is one I support -- I've spent years trying to wean people off the idea that ALL wines should be shoved into a wine rack for a year or five of bottle aging, because -- no. Really.

That said, I spent years with other people extolling the joy and fun of the Third Thursday (when Beaujolais nouveau is released) and spent a year watching displays of the stuff race out of our store, and all the while wondering why I felt so out of step with the whole mad craze. Was I missing some essential understanding of the joys of simple wines? (nope). Was I really that much of a tanin snob? (probably). Did I just resist out of contrariness being part of a long-running fad? (there is that, yeah).

Which is a shame, because there are some nice Beaujolais nouveau out there (even this year, when the harvest was smaller than usual). If you're looking for an inexpensive bottle of something perfectly acceptable for casual/festive drinking, or have to load up on Thanksgiving reds without breaking the budget, Beaujolais nouveau will do ya. It can also make a pretty nice sangria. But not all Beaujolais nouveau is equal -- ask your store manager for recommendations -- and if s/he points you toward the Georges Duboeuf*, say "no, seriously. What do you recommend?"


*GDb is the Costco of Beaujolais nouveau. Some of his product is quite drinkable. IMO, you can find more interesting offerings at an equal price.

Comments

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

Le beaujolais nouveau est arrivé, which is an excuse to drink wine in a cafe at 10 o'clock in the morning. That said, I don't really like it. It is too light. I too prefer tannins. But, there is the fact that it is allowable to drink beaujolais nouveau in the morning on the third Thursday in November. Nay, not allowable, it's encouraged. ;-)

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

I'm not wild about it either - I won't bother with it here, but we did get a bottle in Paris last year at this time, which was pleasant enough.

I always felt it was a marketing scam by the French to send to England the wines they didn't want.

[lagilman]

I always felt it was a marketing scam by the French to send to England the wines they didn't want.

Entirely possible! (or at least, the English-speaking wine-suspicious portion of the world population... because damn, do they spend a lot of advertising dollars over here.)

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

I always felt it was a marketing scam by the French to send to England the wines they didn't want.

No, they sell it here too. It's omnipresent in November and EVERYONE has to try it.

[lagilman]

it has a Time and a Place, yeah. Although at 10am I'm not sure... if I need to drink at that point, I'm going to need something a LOT stronger.

Oh, speaking of which: The Joel Gott '06 Zin. Verra nice, serious jam and pepper, and under $20. Tell your folks to store a few bottles for your next visit.

[markdf.livejournal.com]

I'm on the same page---beaujolaise just goes down too fast for me. Which means I drink too much and then feel like I am tipsy on wine cooler or something. I tend to California merlots (though I may be switching because California prices are ridiculous), and there's some interesting Australian.

Jam and pepper are exactly what I like in a merlot--so I'm intrigued to try the zin recommend. thx.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

My folks don't do wine for nothing. But I will tell my best GF. She will buy some.

[maryrobinette.livejournal.com]

I hear you, but I think it makes a better entry wine than say, White Zinfandel.

[lagilman]

*blink* Um, I wasn't intending to say it wasn't! Just my own personal take on this particular phenom....



(most people around here have heard me Rant on the subject of 'white Zin,' which is a terrible thing to do to a lovely grape and should be abolished now and forevermore).

[maryrobinette.livejournal.com]

Oh! Sorry, I was thinking about my dad as I was writing that instead of what you actually said. He recently visited and we tasted some wine out of the tank, so it hadn't even hit barrel yet. He liked it a lot and I was thinking that he'd probably also like a Beaujolais Nouveau for the same simple, fruity reasons. And I'd rather have him like that than the fermented kool aid that is White Zin.

All of which has almost nothing to do with what you actually were talking about. ::blushes::

[lagilman]

*laugh* s'okay -- I was worried I had been wildly unclear...!

[maryrobinette.livejournal.com]

Nope. I was just reading while distracted, it's a deadly combination.

[julia-sevin.livejournal.com]

The funny thing about this entry and the comments is that is had made me want to taste both beaujolais nouveau and white zinfandel.

Y'see, I'm a completely novice drinker. Completely. Tee-totaller until about six months ago. I've had some mixed drinks and maybe two glasses of wine but nothing that knocked my socks off. Still, I like it a lot better than rum. I just drank a small bottle of gewurztraminer that some friends gave us as a wedding favor ages ago and I really liked it. Part of the reason I friended you was to observe your opinion on these things. I regret that, as a novice, my tastes really do seem to lean--for the time being, at least--toward really light wines with very little tannin. So... maybe I'm the kind of person Beau-nouveau and zin are made for? :D Or maybe you have another recommendation?

My palate will advance, I promise!

[lagilman]

My brain is flatcat with Book right now, but if you'll be patient I'll get back to this, I promise....

[julia-sevin.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[lagilman]

Okay, so. New to Bacchus' Delight, and your preference (as often is, at the beginning) for a lighter, softer wine, something simple and enjoyable in the mouth, not giving all sorts of conflicting information to your tastebuds and sinuses?

You can go sit down next to my mom, that's her preference too. For a red, I usually buy her young California merlot -- lots of flavor, but very soft in the mouthfeel (literally, how it feels when you hold a sip in your mouth), and they don't linger too long in the finish. You might also like pinot noir -- it's a very silky, sexy wine when done right (when done wrong it's watery and bleah), and even when the tanins are developed they're smooth enough that you shouldn't find them objectionable.

The gamay grape is what Beaujolais is made from, so you might want to look for that varietal, in different forms.

Stay away from zinfandel, at least to start. "White zinfandel" is a blush wine made from the zinfandel grape*, and IM extemely biased O it's an abomination. Zinfandel is a strong, jammy, spicy grape that makes excellent reds and you may come to love them for themselves. Don't think poorly of them for their abused version, and don't waste your tastebuds on it. If you're looking for an excellent rose, go French. Blush wines are... wrong. Bleah. Kool-aid without the sugar high


For whites, you already know that you like g'traminer -- was it sweet or dry? I much prefer the dry, bu there's an argument to be made for both styles. You might want to try a Viognier -- honeysuckle and flint, and really nice, very smooth. For something a little crisper, and really good with fish, or before meals, a Marlborough (N.Z.) sauvignon blanc. Not the $-bargain it used to be, but you can still find inexpensive bottles that are very good.

Er. Too much too fast? *sheepish grin*

[julia-sevin.livejournal.com]

Too much too fast?

Not at all, unless you're suggesting I drink them all tonight! :)

I actually watched some of a show about wine by John Cleese last night and found it illuminating. They covered sauvignon blanc, riesling and pinot noir, at least as long as I watched. Since your preference is dry, I'm guessing you're not a big fan of riesling? (Though the winery they showed had apparently developed a way to make it astonishingly dry.)

The Gewurz doesn't say anything special on the bottle, but at the winery's website I see it's described as "off-dry" with "a touch of sweetness". Which jibes with my recollection--it was neither harsh to my n00b palate nor anything I would characterize as sugary.

You have my promise: I shall not touch the abomination that is white zinfandel! (What is it, made from skinned red grapes?)

All I know about merlot is how bad Giamatti's character burned it and its adorers in SIDEWAYS. :P

I'm making notes and will be checking these out. Thank you so much! I'm ashamed to admit (and was debating whether to mention it here, but why not) that I was so intimidated and confused last time I went down the wine aisle, trying to figure out what would be friendly, that I actually bought Arbor Mist. :/ I found it drinkable, basically like a spiked flat soda, but thoroughly unimpressive as a gastronomic experience. Zero complexity. Meant to be chugged, I guess.

So, yeah, between the process of elimination and your advice, I feel ready to leap into the genuine experience now. Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes.

[lagilman]

Since your preference is dry, I'm guessing you're not a big fan of riesling?

Oh, there are lovely dry rieslings -- in fact, they're very popular! The grape produces well in a variety of styles, depending on where it's grown (German, Alsatian, Australian, etc) and the winemaker's intent. I love a kabinett with spicy food....

white zinfandel! (What is it, made from skinned red grapes?)

More or less, yes. The color (and a lot of the structure and taste) of red wine comes from the skin, not the juice! There's an entire lecture on just that I'll spare you. *grin*


Don't be intimidated -- find a wine store in your area that hold tastings (we did ours on the weekends, between noon and 3) and don't be afraid to ask -- trust me, most of the sales folk would MUCH rather talk about wines than direct someone to where the cases of beer are....

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

I must admit I hadn't even thought about third Thursday in November ... which indicates how enthusiastic I am (not) about Beaujolais Nouveau. I'll drink it, yes -- but I'd far rather have a Beaujolais cru with some reasonable bottla age.

A few years ago, a wine merchant round here was pushing Beaujolais Villages Nouveau - which struck me as a serious crime, given that those grapes could have been turned into something very much better if they hadn't been pushed through a hasty fermentation to meet an artificial deadline.

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

I forgot to add that Costco has its place. My local one frequently has some quite decent wine at reasonable prices, as well as the cases of cheap everyday Chardonnay (Macon Lugny), Pinot Grigio, or Chilean Cabernet. Their own label New Zealand Pinot (Central Otago region) is not bad at all, and they're selling Vasse Felix Chardonnay (Margaret River, Australia) for significantly less than my usual wine merchant. (Hope they still have some next week, as I've just poured the last of that bottle...)

[lagilman]

CostCo has its place, and Bn has its place and even Grenache has its place (in small percentages, please). I was going for the "massive Mass Outlet of Goods" visual. My original impulse had been to say McDonalds -- would that have worked better?

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

I would agree with you on Georges Duboeuf - generally sound and reliable wines, sometimes even good, but not necessarily exciting. I'm not sure that analogies to Costco or McD really work, though, and we may well view these differently here in the UK to the way you see these in the US.

[lagilman]

You have CostCo in the UK?

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

I think there are about a dozen branches in the UK. Primarily for the trade, but individual memberships aren't difficult to obtain. My local one has a tyre bay and an optician service, both offering quality products at by far the lowest prices around (the saving on my current pair of glasses covered about five years' membership fee...) so it's worth it just for that. Not much use to me for regular shopping, but I do pick up a few things from time to time - as well as the occasional half-dozen bottles of wine.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

Beaujolais Villages is a step above beaujolais nouveau. It's slightly better, if you like beaujolais.;-)

[lagilman]

*laugh* Now, now. It's a perfectly fine.... Oh all right, I don't drink it either. But play nice. The best wine is still the wine you like the best.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

OK I'll play nice. We have a 5-bottle wine tasting kit from Nicolas that J. got for his birthday. We have tasted 4 of the bottles (they were small, 2 glasses in each). The first got a 7/20. The second got a 8/20. The third got a 12/20 and the fourth got a 11/20. Can't remember the names right now. The last bottle is a Crozes Hermitage. I'm expecting it to be the best, but J. says not to get my hopes up.

[shui-long.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't dislike Beaujolais in general, though there are plenty of more interesting wines. Beaujolais Villages made properly, with a couple of years in the bottle, is distinctly better, and I do rather like Morgon, or Julienas ...
(On the other hand, I definitely didn't care for Tarrango, which appears to be an Australian attempt to imitate Beaujolais.)

[jon-chance.livejournal.com]

Unless you're in my store, where I'll tell you the only one we have is the GDb because my boss actually hates BN and only has that one because that's what people come in asking for.

And let's not think about the horrific carbon footprint of that wine, flown in like it is all over the world...