The spectacle surrounding the most prominent of the "new wines," Beaujolais Nouveau, is the culmination of a year's toil and the fervent hopes of vignerons for a new generation of grape. Beaujolais is the debutante at the ball. Her introduction is staged to catch both the neophyte's and the oenophile's eye.
So whether you're a seasoned libertine of torrid liaisons or a wine wallflower trepidacious of the dance, here's what you should know about vins nouveaux before next year's deflowering.
what are vins nouveaux?"Cheap and cheerful" may sound like the name of a chat room hookup, but it's a phrase commonly used to describe vins nouveaux. Cheap because vins nouveaux are priced appropriately for their youth and inexperience. Cheerful because vins nouveaux are as fruity as red wine gets — red wine that tastes like white. Admirers of Beaujolais nouveau praise the wine's brightness, its light flavors of plum, apple and strawberry, and its impressions of pepper or persimmon.
Detractors have called it "bananas and bubblegum." This criticism is outdated. The yeast used in the fast fermentation process infused the early Beaujolais nouveaux with a strong aroma of banana. That yeast is no longer used, but nevertheless, it's the quickie nature of vins nouveaux, the let's-get-busy rush from grape to glass, that defines Beaujolais and all vins nouveaux.
how are they produced?A little science may be useful here. Vins nouveaux literally means "new wines," the first release of a vintage, heralding future wines made by the vintner from the same grape. Beaujolais nouveau, for example, is the first wine of that year's harvest to be made from the same grape as all others to follow. In the case of Beaujolais, that would be the Gamay grape. Gamay is a versatile, purple-colored grape. Its full name is Gamay noir jus blanc, and it is thought to be a mutation of Pinot Noir, the red wine grape grown in Burgundy.
The chief attraction of vins nouveaux is their youth. Beaujolais nouveau is the most popular of the vins de primeur (first wines) — wines harvested in the fall and sold before spring, much sooner than the normal fermentation process. Bunches of grapes are placed into vats without stemming or crushing, and through a process called carbonic maceration, the juice is fermented while still inside the grape. The period between harvesting and bottling lasts less than six weeks, producing a wine without the astringent tannins that help wine to age; a festive wine to be quaffed rather than sipped.
The history of vins nouveaux, alternatives to Beaujolais nouveau, and some tips for buying and savoring these young wines...