Beaujolais Nouveau

Beaujolais - Village - Nouveau has arrived, and we have to say it is rather good. Light and fruity with a soft edge we have chosen from Domaine de P'tit Bellevue. At 12% it is perfect when paired with creamy Saint Marcellin and Pain Poilâne. We have bags of Beaujolias, St Marcellin & Poilâne for £16.00 (a 10 % discount) available until the end of November.

In celebration of Beaujolais we have classic french fare with L'Escargot, Boeuf Bourguignon and Tarte Tatin, from the cheese room we have enjoyed fabulous high mountain french cheese plates. This is all available in our Tasting Café and to take away.

A little bit about Beaujolais Nouveau... Made as a vin de l'année, Beaujolais celebrates the end of the harvest, but until WWII it was only for local consumption. In fact, once the Beaujolais AOC was established in 1937, AOC rules meant that Beaujolais wine could only be officially sold after the 15th December in the year of harvest. These rules were relaxed on 13th November 1951, and the Union Interprofessionnelle des Vins du Beaujolais (UIVB) formally set the 15 November as the release date for what would henceforth be known as Beaujolais Nouveau, along with the idea of a race to Paris carrying the first bottles of the new vintage. This attracted a lot of media coverage, and by the 1970's had become a national event. In the 1980's the annual race tradition spread to neighbouring countries in Europe, followed by North America, and in the 1990's to Asia. In 1985, the date was changed to the third Thursday in November.