Last month, before I went to Australia, I was invited to a special Beaujolais tasting at Lucky Strikes Lanes called "Bowling for Beaujolais," where I got to sample twenty different wines from the region's 12 appellations and crus. This was the second Beaujolais tasting I've been to in the last few months, and it was truly interesting to try some of the region's fine wines.When you say Beaujolais, most people think you mean Beaujolais Nouveau, which is released right around this time of year in France every year just in time for Thanksgiving. That fact, and a lot of marketing, has led many people to associate BN with Thanksgiving dinner, and to think of BN as Beaujolais in general. However, what I've been learning at these tastings is that the region produces a startlingly wide range of wines, and ones that are far more complex and valuable than your average Beaujolais Nouveau.
Many people enjoy the light red wine made from the gamay grape, but its flaws also garner it many detractors. The wines I tasted, though, were not nouveau, but were several years old, and exhibited some of the finest characteristics of Beaujolais--characteristics that make it resemble the famous pinot noirs coming out of neighboring Burgundy.
Rather than get into what made these Beaujolais so good here, though, I'll let you take a look at a quick article I wrote up for The Liquid Muse about what I tasted, and why these fresh, nicely acidic (and affordable!) red wines will go well with your Thanksgiving dinner this year: http://theliquidmuse.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=55&Itemid=117
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