Beaujolais nouveau is a light, fruity red wine made from Gamay grapes grown in the Beaujolais region of France. It is aged for only about 6 weeks before bottling and was traditionally enjoyed by the farmers of the region to celebrate the end of the harvest. The wine is released to the public on the third Thursday of November each year. While the date was set by wine distributors and the popularity was originally due to marketing more than anything else, it is a festive day in Paris. Wine shops and grocery stores have tastings, advertisements about Beaujolais nouveau are all over the subway, and it can even be a reason to throw a party.
This year we stopped by a tasting in honor of the Beaujolais nouveau at the Caves Augé, one of the oldest wine shops in Paris (established in 1850). They were serving raw oysters, charcuterie, and Beaujolais nouveau. We even saw wine being bottled directly from a large barrel out on the sidewalk.
The wine-bottling operation is hidden behind the white boxes.
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