BEAUJOLAIS DAY Thursday 15th November #BringBeaujolaisBack
BRING BEAUJOLAIS BACK Beaujolais Day celebrates the release of the year s first Beaujolais Nouveau wine. It s celebrated across the world, particularly in France, with festivals, fireworks and, of course, lots of drinking. This year, we re bringing Beaujolais back to the UK and hosting celebrations in all our bistrots on 15th November. Find out more about Beaujolais Nouveau here... 2
Beaujolais is pronounced : BOE-ZJOH-LAY INTRODUCTION 1 Beaujolais Nouveau is a very young and fruity red wine one of the few French wines meant to be drunk in the same year it s harvested. The earlier the better! 2 The wine can only be uncorked at 00:01am on the third Thursday of November it s French law. TASTE TEST MAKING BEAUJOLAIS JOURNEY TO THE UK 3
INTRODUCTION 1 There are more than 100 Beaujolais Nouveau festivals held in the Beaujolais region. Les Sarmentelles is the most famous, where the winner of the annual tasting contest wins their weight in wine. 2 Beaujolais Day is also celebrated across the world. It s popular in the US and the wine is often used to toast at Thanksgiving. TASTE TEST MAKING BEAUJOLAIS JOURNEY TO THE UK 4
3 Beaujolais Nouveau became really popular in the 1960s and 1970s outside of France, leading to sales peaking in the 1980s and the birth of the Beaujolais Run. Means of transport to get the first case of Beaujolais Nouveau back to London have allegedly included Concorde, a hot-air balloon and even an elephant. A Harrier jet was even used one year très 80s! 4 Believe it or not, Japan is the world s biggest export market for Beaujolais Nouveau, importing around 5.7 million bottles last year they even bathe in it! TASTE TEST MAKING BEAUJOLAIS JOURNEY TO THE UK INTRODUCTION 5
INTRODUCTION JOURNEY TO THE UK In the 1980s, Beaujolais Day was celebrated across the UK with people enjoying the release of the first Beaujolais Nouveau accompanied with great food and a fantastic, fun atmosphere. So we have decided that it s time to Bring Beaujolais Back and celebrate this year s release like it s the 80s! We re taking the trip to the Beaujolais region in France to bring back this year s wine so that you can celebrate in style in our bistrots. TASTE TEST MAKING BEAUJOLAIS JOURNEY TO THE UK 6
MAKING BEAUJOLAIS 1 It s made from Gamay grapes, grown in the Beaujolais region. The grapes are handpicked and the wine owes its easy drinkability and smooth taste to a winemaking process called carbonic maceration. TASTE TEST MAKING BEAUJOLAIS JOURNEY TO THE UK INTRODUCTION 7
2 This technique simply uses the grapes own weight and CO 2 to bring about fermentation, preserving the fresh, fruity quality of the grapes without extracting bitter tannins from the skins. It s a wine made for a party which is certainly what we ll be doing on 15th November! TASTE TEST MAKING BEAUJOLAIS JOURNEY TO THE UK INTRODUCTION 8
TASTE TEST 1 The wine s taste changes every year depending on the weather, but it s always fresh and full of red fruit flavours. The fresher it is, the better the taste the lack of tannins (or preservatives) means that the wine doesn t age well, with the fruity flavours eventually fading away. 2 This is what led to the Beaujolais Run frenzy of the 80s people wanting to get the wine first, when it is at its best, wearing their finest leg warmers and shoulder pads for the occasion, of course. TASTE TEST MAKING BEAUJOLAIS JOURNEY TO THE UK INTRODUCTION 9
3 Unlike most red wines, it s served chilled to bring those fresh flavours out even more simply pop in the fridge for 20 minutes or so or, if you re really pressed for time, serve over ice. 4 JOURNEY TO THE UK INTRODUCTION Surprisingly for a red wine, it s not necessarily a red meat pairing. Our Beaujolais Day menu is filled with dishes to complement the wine, such as our Fritôt de Brie and Poulet chasseur. TASTE TEST MAKING BEAUJOLAIS 10
We hope you can join us on 15TH NOVEMBER to celebrate the BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU WINE eat fantastic bistrot food, and have a whole lot of fun. We invite our diners to dress up in classic French attire the more clichéd the better! FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY over to France to bring this year s Beaujolais Nouveau back to our bistrots by using the hashtag #BringBeaujolaisBack PRE-BOOK YOUR TABLE NOW TWO COURSES and Beaujolais Nouveau wine 17.95* *175ml glass. A different menu is available in Cardiff and Mumbles. View it here: bistrotpierre.co.uk/menus/beaujolais-wales