Winging Wine to Far Off Places

Dec. 1, 2004
Japan is one of the first countries in the world to celebrate the arrival and tasting of the new vintage each year. The wine arrived in Japan between

Japan is one of the first countries in the world to celebrate the arrival and tasting of the new vintage each year. The wine arrived in Japan between November 11 and 14, cleared Customs, moved on to distributors, then on to final consumers.

In order to move the 504,000 bottles in a timely fashion, FedEx operated seven charters, including five MD-11s. Six of the flights moved from the Lyon-Saint-Exupery Airport to Tokyo and one charter went from Stansted Airport in the U.K. to Sapporo, Japan.

This is a wine best drunk young, claims the Into Wine Web site (www.intowine.com), and Beaujolais Nouveau is as close to white wine as red wine gets, is best served chilled and should be gulped rather than sipped. Here are 10 facts about the wine shared on the Web site:

1. Beaujolais [BOE-zjoh-lay] Nouveau is always released the third Thursday of November, regardless of the start of the harvest.

2. The region of Beaujolais is 34 miles long from north to south and 7 to 9 miles wide. There are nearly 4,000 grape growers who make their living in this picturesque region just north of France's third largest city, Lyon.

3. All the grapes in the Beaujolais region must be picked by hand. These are the only vineyards, along with Champagne, where hand harvesting is mandatory.

4. Gamay (Gamay noir à Jus Blanc) is the only grape permitted for Beaujolais. While certain California wineries may label their wine "Gamay Beaujolais" this is not the same grape variety as what is grown in France, and is quite different in taste and growing habits.

5. Beaujolais Nouveau cannot be made from grapes grown in the 10 crus (great growths) of Beaujolais --only from grapes coming from the appellations of Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages.

6. Beaujolais Nouveau owes its easy drinkability to a winemaking process called carbonic maceration --also called whole berry fermentation. This technique preserves the fresh, fruity quality of the wine, without extracting bitter tannins from the grape skins.

7. Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be drunk young -- in average vintages it should be consumed by the following May after its release. However, in excellent vintages (such as 2000) the wine can live much longer and can be enjoyed until the next harvest rolls around.

8. Serve Beaujolais Nouveau slightly cool, at about 55 degrees Fahrenheit -- the wine is more refreshing and its forward fruit more apparent than if you serve it at room temperature.

9. Approximately 1/3 of the entire crop of the Beaujolais region is sold as Beaujolais Nouveau.

10. The region of Beaujolais is known for its fabulous food. The famed Paul Bocuse Restaurant is just minutes from the heart of Beaujolais, as is Georges Blanc's eponymous culinary temple. These great restaurants have plenty of Beaujolais on their wine lists. This quintessential food wine goes well with either haute cuisine or Tuesday night's meat loaf.