What is Beaujolais Nouveau? Beaujolais [Boe-zjoh-lay] is a red wine made from a grape called Gamay. By French law, its release is held until no earlier than the third Thursday of November. Beaujolais must also come from the Beaujolais region, in the Southern part of Burgundy. Beaujolais Nouveau is made in the same way as regular Beaujolais, just quicker.
There are a couple of different ways to produce Beaujolais, but they are all roughly based around a winemaking technique known as carbonic maceration. Carbonic maceration involves placing whole bunches of grapes in huge cement or stainless steel tanks which have had the oxygen removed.
Beaujolais Nouveau was first produced in France during the 1930’s, but really first came onto the world stage in the 1980’s via well-known French winemaker Georges Duboeuf. Beaujolais Nouveau should be consumed within 6 months of being bottled. Lacking in tannins, it’s not built not age. If it’s been sitting around, Schaefer’s secret is instant sangria!
Regular Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages (not Nouveau) should be consumed within 2 years of the vintage date on the bottle. Cru Beaujolais is usually safe up to 3 years, but some can even last to 10 years depending on the vintage.
Check out Schaefer's three Beaujolias Nouveau offerings at the bottom of this page-- including, yes, Duboeuf.
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