Beaujolais

Each year at 12:01 AM on the third Thursday of November, millions of bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau begin a journey from a little French village to locales across the globe. Wine stores and cafes enthusiastically greet these shipments with signs and banners proclaiming "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!" "The New Beaujolais has arrived!". With this begins the annual celebration of the arrival of the French wine Beaujolais Nouveau, a celebration steeped in tradition, frivolity, grandeur, legend, and of course, fabulous wine.

The Hamlet of Wine

In the heart of the beaujolais crus is a wine experience in the Disney tradition. In the small village of Romanèche-Thorins, next to his corporate headquarters, Georges Dubœuf has created Le Hameau Du Vin or The Hamlet of Wine.Through the use of expert displays, sophisticated computer technology, audio visual presentations, an animated electronic program, and a wine tasting, the 90 minute self-guided tour takes you on a journey of discovery through the history and culture of wine.

Exceeding Our Expectations

Thank heavens, the harvest has begun in exceptional conditions. Over 40,000 people from the farthest corners of France have arrived in Beaujolais for the occasion, and by the end of the week the 22,000 hectares (54,362 acres) of my Beaujolais vines will have yielded their fruit.

Since September 5th, Beaujolais has been blessed with warm days and cool nights – ideal weather for harvesting. True, there was some light rain, but it gently added a touch of vitality and freshness to the vines, washing and refreshing the plants.

Last time we tried the grapes, we were impressed by how rich and sugary they were, already showing a nice thick skin. Now that the grapes are fully ripe, they have exceeded even my expectations and have achieved a level of perfection rarely seen by a vigneron.

Naturally, perfect grapes are imperative to yield a perfect wine and, so far, 2005 is a marvelous vintage. Each day, it is showing more personality, richness, expression and grandeur – its future is full of promise. The main difference between this vintage and 2003 is that this wine doesn’t have a jammy edge to it; 2005 is fresher with more fruit, in short – it is perfectly balanced.

2004 Beaujolais Harvest Begins Under Sunny Skies
“The quality of the wine is born on the vine”

The 2004 harvest in Beaujolais began on the 11th of September. Taking into account the aspect and altitude of some of the parcels, the harvest will probably last until around the 3rd of October.

Because of last year’s extremely small crop due to storms and scorching weather, this year the vines were laden with grapes. Conscientious growers green harvested in June and July to insure that that aromas and flavors would be intense. After the stress of the 2003 vintage, the best growers took extra care with the vines this year—being vigilant not to over crop and to watch the health of each parcel. Isolated hailstorms affected a few villages in the Beaujolais Villages area on July 20th, but this was not widespread.

“For three weeks leading up to harvest we have benefited from exceptional weather that solidified the quality of the vintage,” said Georges Duboeuf. “This is not the first time we have been in this situation: it was the same in 1993 and 1999. We know that the 15 days before the harvest and the weather during picking are what really determines the quality of the crop.”

A Grand Vintage for Georges Duboeuf
EARLIEST HARVEST IN MORE THAN A CENTURY CONCLUDES AT AUGUST'S END

"Harvest goes very quickly and should be over at the end of this week", says Beaujolais producer Georges Duboeuf. This will make the Beaujolais harvest the earliest since 1893. "Very few people will harvest next weekend except on the top of the hillsides". Extraordinary heat and lower than normal rainfall has fast-forwarded the harvest in Beaujolais and throughout France, making what is already a hard job an arduous one as well. By law, Beaujolais grapes must be harvested by hand and it takes legions of pickers to pluck the vineyards clean. "One of our challenges was to find people to pick the grapes", explains Duboeuf, "as most people were still away on holiday. We also had to bring our winemakers back two weeks early from vacation to open the winery".

10 Fascinating Facts About Beaujolais Nouveau Every Wine Lover Should Know:

Most Beaujolais is made and sold by large wine producers or négociants. The leading name and by far the largest of these is Georges Duboeuf.