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17.11.2003 |
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The new Beaujolais wine arrives Thursday |
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What are you doing on Thursday?
There is one event that the French never miss, and that's the arrival of the new Beaujolais wine. Since 1951, the third Thursday in November has been something of a red-letter day, a day on which bottles of the new season's wine are uncorked in homes, restaurants and cafés all over the country. This first glass of Beaujolais is a foretaste of the vintage to come. According to the law, no other wine but those stamped "Nouveau" can be sold before they are fully mature: 90 percent are Beaujolais, but you can find some Côtes du Rhone, too. The law is very strict. Any producer attempting to sell, and above all, deliver his wine to the consumer before the fateful date -- Wednesday at midnight -- is punished, a situation that, of course, heightens the general interest in this long-awaited event. Every year, the new Beaujolais is accompanied by a fanfare of posters, commercials, documentaries and ministerial warnings about the dangers of drinking and driving. On Thursday this year, discussions about the quality of the new Beaujolais will no doubt rise over and above commonplace remarks about the weather and other polite banalities. This year's Beaujolais is expected to be a bit more tannic and fruitier than usual, with a hint of blackcurrant, strawberry and banana. No great surprise, but what does it matter? It's the celebration that counts. The French buy about half of the 60 million or so bottles sold (in two months!) just as they buy about half of the total amount of Champagne produced (150 bottles out of 300 million). That does not mean that the partying spirit is characteristic of the French. Beaujolais producers are well aware that, for the past three or four years, their wine has not been performing as well in the domestic market. Other Beaujolais wines besides that of the new season (which accounts for only a third of the total volume) are not selling well at all, despite their well-known quality and excellent marketing potential, such as the "Saint-Amour" cru (what better name for a Valentine's special?). What is even more worrying is that the younger French generation is turning away from wine, which is not considered "trendy." Are they really an exception to the rule? Of course, "Beaujolais nouveau" has been promoted in McDonald's restaurants and university cafeterias, but the big marketing push this fall has centered on Halloween, a new experience straight from the States. Now, at a time of international overproduction and under-consumption, in countries like France where wine plays an important cultural role, the wine industry has pinned its hopes on the young. If the younger generation would rather go out on Oct. 31 than on the third Thursday in November, then there is a huge share of the market just waiting to fall into American hands. ... The ball is in your court!
ISABELLE ENSUQUE is an agricultural writer based in Aix-en-Provence, France, who specializes in produce and wine. Her "World of Wine" column appears monthly in Ag Monday.
Originally published Monday, November 17, 2003 |
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