One of the world's great marketing scams was perpetuated this morning, when at 12:01 AM Paris time the 2010 vintage Le Beaujolais Nouveau, the first wine of the new harvest, was released to an undeserving public. In the days of the Concorde trendy New York restaurants would have it available for luncheon. Now it may take until dinner, and certainly by Saturday it will appear in your local grocery.
If you have trendy or sophisticated friends you may be invited to a Beaujolais Nouveau party this weekend. I beg you to think this through, or to at least to take proper precautions.
Nouveau Beaujolais is plonk. Before your first sip remember that these grapes were on the vine in September. The less fastidious amongst us have grape juice in the fridge older than this. More experienced readers will recall that vintage Boone's Farm aged longer, as it was aged in transit, by truck from far away.
Still if you can't refuse a good party, I suggest the following. Ladies bring a large purse carrying a bottle of a decent red and substitute liberally. You'll thank yourself in the morning, as NB has an aftertaste not easily dissolved. Gentlemen, this would be a great opportunity to bring a flask, feign illness, and call whatever is inside medicine.
You have been warned, and well advised.
Toad
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12 comments:
A Quebecois friend who lives on the North Shore has a Beaujolais Nouveau party every November. I'd forgotten about that. The wine was certainly never anything to write home about, but the party was great fun, and an excuse for him to make toutiere (pork pie, a French Canadian specialty).
BN is most definitely swill. But any excuse for a party is a good one, I suppose.
Was in Paris in November many years ago when the Beaujolais Nouveau came to much excitement. Saw frenchmen drinking it at breakfast along with a cigarette at cafes on Rue de Rivoli. We figured we had to try it.
Remember being VERY disappointed and comparing it to "The Emperors New Clothes."
We chalked it up to another thing we will never understand about the French! ( and I'm a francophile!)
However, any excuse for a party is fine by me.
It, along with cranberry sauce from the can and stuffing from the bag, needs to be amongst the Thanksgiving offerings at our house. The reasons are lost to the mists of time.
I LOVE cranberry sauce from a can! It's one of those things my family puts up with.
Patsy, we may be related. My mother 's favorite ingredients were canned jellied cranberries, and bagged stuffing mix
"My mother 's favorite ingredients were canned jellied cranberries, and bagged stuffing mix"
Don't forget the canned LeSueur early peas w/ canned mushrooms.
We did the creamed green bean casserole with the canned onion rings on top
"We did the creamed green bean casserole with the canned onion rings on top"
Well, of course she did, and didn't we go back for seconds, too. My mom did that dish with canned asparagus for really highbrow occasions, buttered [bagged] breadcrumbs on top.
Used to try to enjoy the BN at the old Balaban's on autumn Saturdays years ago. We all got over it.
Trendy yes. Sophisticated no. Some years it's tolerable...most years it's...shut up.
I should have listened to you. I went to a BN party in Boston on Thursday night. I barely made my morning appointments the next day. The stuff tasted like rubbing alcohol with red food coloring.
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