"Fruity and seductive" - the Beaujolais is here
At midnight, the time had come - the first bottles of this year's Beaujolais arrived in Paris. What began more than 70 years ago with an exceptional regulation to toast the harvest has now grown into a business with more than 16 million bottles.
The first wine of the year from Beaujolais has arrived in Paris. With "Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé", wine lovers celebrate a ritual that has been celebrated for decades. Since 1951, the first bottles of the chilled young wine have been uncorked worldwide from midnight on the third Thursday in November.
This year, winegrowers in the growing region north of Lyon were able to enjoy a good harvest despite a few storms and hail, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Yields were 12 percent higher than the previous year and 22 percent above the average of the past five years.
"The wines are fruity and rich in color, well balanced and seductive," said the president of the Inter-Beaujolais association, Philippe Bardet. Most winegrowers had brought in a relatively generous harvest and the vines had generally adapted to the climatic fluctuations. The final ripening phase and the start of the harvest were characterized by extreme heat, which is unusual for the time of year. In addition, a lack of water once again caused problems for the winegrowers.
Since 1951, winegrowers in the region near Beaujeu and Lyon have enjoyed the exceptional right to uncork freshly pressed grape juice early in November. Just a few weeks old, it was initially only intended for domestic use by winegrowers to toast the successfully completed grape harvest. When resourceful traders offered the Beaujolais made from the Gamay grape in Paris and raced to be the first to sell it, the idea of marketing it was born.
Last year, a good 10 million bottles of "Beaujolais nouveau" were sold in France alone and 6.5 million bottles were exported. The main buyer abroad was Japan with 2.3 million bottles, followed by the USA, Great Britain, Canada and Belgium, with Germany in sixth place with 160,000 bottles, according to Inter-Beaujolais.
The Beaujolais' international fame continues, as France exports a significant portion of its production annually. Despite the challenges, the 20XX harvest in France's Beaujolais region resulted in an abundant yield, enhancing the country's reputation as a renowned wine-producing nation.
Source: www.ntv.de
