Nouveau Beaujolais

[Bruce]

I hope I haven't missed it yet, but does anybody know what date the
Nouveau Beaujolais will be released in North America this year?
What are the forecasts as to the quality of the wines?

----------------------------------------------
Bruce Sutherland (somewhere at U. of Waterloo)

[Ken Birman]

The wine is said to be one of the best in years, and some of it is already on
the market in New York. It was released very recently. Try the Fleurie.

The non-nouveau Beaujolais is a much better wine, though. Your best bet
is to buy small quantities of the new wine for immediate (< 3 months)
consumption and then switch to the real Beaujolais when it comes out
in the spring, around March. By then it will be better than the nouveau
wines, which fade fast, and could improve for the next few years in a good
cellar.

On that subject, the violent temperature shifts people have been discussing in
the context of cooling units wouldn't qualify as a "good" cellar. Such rapid
and extreme temperature swings would destroy a good bottle in no time at all.

A good cellar stays between 55 and 60F and the temperature changes are never
sudden. Wine in a warmer cellar, say 65, matures faster but may not reach
the same peak as if it has the amount of time it really needs (that is, the
tannin does die off, but the flavors may not mellow so nicely). A fridge that
changes termperatures by 5 or 10 degrees in a few minutes is the worst thing
I can imagine for storing wine. A closet makes more sense.

Most of my wine is in a basement as far from the heater as I could put it.
The termperature varies from 60 to 65 over the course of a year, but on any
given day it says pretty constant. Anyhow, it seems to work fine. My father
has kept bottles there for years and they don't suffer.

The Swiss have the best solution. They are required to have atomic bomb
shelters in their houses, so they keep the wine there too. Insulated from
climate problems and if the shelter ever is needed...

[Steve Pope]

I'm pretty sure that the release date this year is Nov. 20.
Export shipments are allowed to leave France 2 days before
the release date, so long as you promise not to sell it
retail before the date. This way, everybody gets to break into their
Nouveau at the same time.

The 86 is said to be comparable in quality to the excellent 85's
(for those of you who take Beaujolais seriously, the quality of the
Nouveau gives some indication as to the overall quality of the vintage).

steve