THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511090034
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Humble Steward
SOURCE: By Jim Raper, Wine columnist
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
``LE BEAUJOLAIS Nouveau est arrive!'' is the toast of Paris bistros on the third Thursday in November.
On that day each year, the French government allows the release of the first wine of the vintage from Beaujolais, the region just north of Lyon where fruity red wines are produced from the gamay grape.
So on Thursday, the first bottles of the 1995 Beaujolais Nouveau will be uncorked in France and elsewhere in the world, including Hampton Roads.
Our first bottles will be rushed to us by expensive air freight on the Concorde. This will entitle a few local folks to celebrate the new vintage right along with the French. But most Hampton Roads wine lovers will be content to wait a couple of weeks longer, until ships deliver large quantities of the 1995 Beaujolais Nouveau that can be sold at reasonable prices of $7 to $9.
At Le Chambord restaurant in Virginia Beach, owner Frank Spapen has planned a Beaujolais Nouveau arrival ceremony for 6 p.m. Nicole Yancey, honorary French consul for our region, will preside over the uncorking. The restaurant will begin offering the 1995 vintage to the public after the ceremony.
Another opportunity to taste the wine will come Nov. 20, at the second annual Nouveau Nite benefit for Samaritan House, a shelter for the homeless in Virginia Beach. The 6 p.m. benefit at Il Porto restaurant at Norfolk's Waterside will include food, musical entertainment and a silent auction. Locally brewed Steamship beers also will be served. Tickets ($40 per person and $75 per couple) can be purchased in advance at Samaritan House (430-2642) or Il Porto (627-4400).
Other restaurants and shops will get early shipments of the 1995 Beaujolais Nouveau, so anyone who yearns for a taste should inquire soon about availability.
A global favorite
Nouveau wines - almost all of which are red - are produced worldwide nowadays. But the ones from Beaujolais are by far the most popular. The climate and soil, the gamay grape and the methods of the region's winemakers are particularly suited to the production of this simple wine.
Beaujolais Nouveau goes through a period of fermentation and skin contact that is much shorter than that of other red wines.
All Beaujolais wines get characteristic flavor from carbonic maceration or semi-carbonic maceration, during which fermentation goes on inside uncrushed berries that are bathed in carbon monoxide gas.
Chemistry aside, the process makes the typical Beaujolais wine - and especially the nouveau - taste exceedingly fruity and not at all tannic, or bitter.
Most Beaujolais wines - especially the nouveau - are best if served slightly chilled. I believe, too, that the nouveau improves after it has a few minutes of contact with air. Immediately out of the bottle it smells a bit too tropical for me. Try decanting it.
The nouveau is a popular party wine because it is uncomplicated, refreshing and inexpensive. I think it goes well with salty snacks. It is enjoyable also with fried or roasted chicken, hamburgers and pork barbecue.
Beaujolais has produced high-quality wines in this decade. Regular Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages from 1994 are first rate. The best wine of Beaujolais comes from one of the region's cru appellations. These will be labeled by village name such as Brouilly, Chenas, Fleurie, Julienas, Moulin-A-Vent, Morgon and Regnie.
Party hosts over the next few weeks might use a Beaujolais theme and serve 1995 Nouveau, 1994 Beaujolais-Villages and 1993 Morgon or Chenas. This would give guests an opportunity to sample Beaujolais wines from the simplest to the most complicated.
Georges Duboeuf is the largest producer of Beaujolais; wines with his name on them are consistently good and fairly priced. ILLUSTRATION: File photo
This year's Beaujolais Nouveau will be uncorked on Thursday.
by CNB