foodwineclick

Yep, 2017 Beaujolais Nouveau is on its’ way

More Than Nouveau
Nouveau Beaujolais is a marketing triumph; of sorts.  A celebration of the new vintage, the wines are super fresh and what fun to celebrate with a party on the third Thursday of November. This might be the original #WineDay! Only one problem: people around the world mistakenly think that Nouveau Beaujolais is the only Beaujolais, what a pity.  This year, why not use the French #Winophiles as your guide to explore Beaujolais beyond Nouveau?

As many wine regions in France, there is a pyramid of quality in the Beaujolais region.  Consider Nouveau Beaujolais as the base. Then you ascend to (normal) Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages, then on to the named Crus of Beaujolais. The Crus are 10 mini-regions named for a village within which produce Beaujolais wines worthy of a bit of aging and attention when you pour them in the glass.

A favorite basic Beaujolais

Beaujolais
Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages hail from the southerly end of the Beaujolais region, just 40 or so minutes drive from Lyon. The soil here is called Terres Dorees, a yellow stone which was used in constructing most of the buildings in Lyon, the third largest city in France. The wines power many of the bistro’s and bouchons in that bustling metropolis. Basic Beaujolais wines are inexpensive, entirely gluggable delicious wines to enjoy with almost any food at any time of day.

Always reliable and affordable Beaujolais-Villages

Beaujolais-Villages
Beaujolais-Villages wines are a step up in quality from basic Beaujolais although they retain the friendly,highly drinkable nature of their brethren.  Both take a chill nicely and should be on your short list of easy to enjoy summertime red wines.

Within a lighter red wine category, Beaujolais wines still cover a wide range

Cru Beaujolais
The Cru Beaujolais wines are in the Northern half of the Beaujolais region. The soil has shifted away from the Terres Dorees into a granite based soil, producing wines capable of a bit more grace and ageability. When made with care, Cru Beaujolais wines rival their Burgundy neighbors to the North.

One puzzle is the naming of the Cru Beaujolais wines.  They lose the Beaujolais label, and are named by their village. There are ten named Cru Beaujolais villages: Chiroubles, Regnie, St. Amour, Fleurie, Chenas, Cote de Brouilly, Brouilly, Julienas, Morgon, Moulin-a-Vent.

There are always exceptions, but some Cru Beaujolais villages are known for slightly lighter bodied wines.

The Lighter Bodied Cru’s
The lighter bodied Cru’s are generally considered to be Chiroubles, Regnie, St. Amour and Fleurie.  Remember there are lots of variables, but these wines will generally be a bit lighter in tone and body. Suitable for a bit of a chill in the summer, bigger fish dishes and certainly chicken and pork.

Medium Bodied Cru’s
The medium bodies Crus’ are Chenas, Brouilly, Cote-de-Brouilly and Julienas. Of course, different people have some different choices, however, these are a decent starting point. The medium bodied Cru’s are flexible and can work as well with grilled swordfish as they would a steak.

Fuller Bodied Cru’s
Morgon and Moulin-a-Vent are deeper in color, deeper in fruit and will happily sit beside your plate of grilled red meat, or something braised in the winter.

Before You Pick Up That Nouveau
We French Winophiles would never tell you to leave a bottle of French wine on the shelf!  You should pick up a bottle of Nouveau, but not two!  Instead, take a look at our posts and pick up something equally economical, equally perfect for the dinner table, but with more personality, more depth, or more OOMPH.

Here’s a compilation of posts which will go live over the next few days. Don’t forget to join our chat!

• Jill from L’Occasion shares “No Sleep ’til Beaujolais: The French Wine That’s Keeping Us Up All Night“
• Martin from Enofylz writes “Ready To Elevate Your Beaujolais Game? Go Beyond Nouveau!”
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Top of the Central Coast: My Beaujolais Pairing Dinner”
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest writes “Beaujolais Beyond Nouveau”
• Rob from Odd Bacchus shares “Beaujolais Reassessed“
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm writes “Say Yay for Beaujolais“
• Jane from Always Ravenous shares “Beaujolais Wine: A Foodie’s Dream”
• Nicole from  Somms Table writes “Cooking to the Wine: Stephane Aviron Cru Beaujolais with Pork Tenderloin While Jumping Life Hurdles“
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish shares “Thanksgiving for Two: Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Loin Paired with Beaujolais Cru”
• Liz from What’s in that Bottle writes “Discover Real Beaujolais”
• Jeff from Food Wine Click! shares “Tasting the Beaujolais Pyramid over Dinner”
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog writes ” Exploring Cru Beaujolais with #Winophiles”
• David from Cooking Chat shares “Food-Friendly Red Wine from Beaujolais”
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator writes “Do you know the way to Beaujolais?”

Join our chat on Saturday November 18 at 10-11am CST (11am EST, 8am PST, and 1700 hours in France)! See what we think of Beaujolais, and tell us about your experiences! Simply log into Twitter and search for the #winophiles tag, and you’re in!