Beaujolais Nouveau

Though currently attempting to optimize my in-person wine experiences, the latest was a pure coincidence.  In a meeting of the stars, life would have it that a dear friend of mine from Chicago would be visiting Paris in November, near the time when I needed to schedule a business meeting.  As we finalized a date, he mentioned how lucky I was to be in France for the "Beaujolais Nouveau".  Huh?

So, the research begins.  Beaujolais is a region in France, south of Burgundy and Nouveau stands for "new".  Simple enough.  This is one of the few red wines they do not age to maturity, letting the juice ferment for just a matter of weeks from harvest until the third Thursday in November when they pop barrels all over France, especially the South, to toast the season's harvest.

Let me be clear ... this stuff is terrible.  Any self-respecting Frenchman raises their nose in horror when you mention you drank the stuff, let alone came into the country just to celebrate it.  I kept my comments to a minimum in the meeting the day after.  Kind of like saying you love Colt 45.

Still, I am not a wine snob who limits themselves to only the superb, this is about breadth of knowledge as much as depth.  I did some quick searching for events in Paris and found a street party that seemed the best option.  On my walk over, I ran across a small wine shop with a huge barrel in the window and decided to pop in.  Turns out, they were literally filling the bottles, corking them, and smearing the labels on right there!  How exciting!  Honestly, it wasn't too bad ... and at 5 Euro, I bought a souvenir bottle.

Perhaps I was spoiled by that experience.  As I walked up, there was a door with possibly a thousand bottles of wine lined up behind.  I grabbed one and gave it a shot.  My first thought was, "this ... is ... the worst wine I have ever tasted".  Eh, I'll give it another try.

Second try, it was still horrible.  So, that experience is complete.  However, I still had a weekend in Paris to share in friendly conversation and explore France's culinary adventures, like jellied seafood terrines.