Once a year on the third Thursday of every November, the region of Beaujolais, France celebrates the first fruits of its grape harvest with Beaujolais Nouveau, a young wine made from the Gamay grape.
The Columbus Wine Collective shops will celebrate Beaujolais Week the week of the November 15th Nouveau release. Each of the member wine shops will incorporate Nouveau, as well as Cru from the Beaujolais region, into their respective tastings or flights to celebrate Nouveau and other good wine from the Beaujolais region.
Meza will incorporate Beaujolais in their Friday night tasting and feature a Beaujolais by the glass as well. Tutto Vino will include Beaujolais in their 20/20 tasting on Saturday. House Wine will have all Beaujolais on the release date for their Thursday night tasting.
“What started as a tradition around Burgundy became an international wine holiday over the past century” said Donnie Austin, owner of House Wine and founder of the Columbus Wine Collective. “The positive of the Nouveau release is that it’s a wine celebration. The downside is that people not as familiar with wine will associate and confuse Nouveau with all the really good Beaujolais that has more structure, character and a little longevity. You’ll find the better Beaujolais with the Villages appellation or one of the ten Crus, which are the top zones for the Gamay-based wine and offer amazing value.”
