The French have long been famous for their wine culture. Their drinks are famous and loved around the world. And traditional alcohol festivals are gradually becoming international. The holiday, marking the beginning of a new winemaking year, is gaining more and more popularity.
New Harvest Festival
Every year, on the third Thursday of November, in France, Beaujolais Day is celebrated - a feast of young wine. This festival was born in the XIX century in the small town of Bozho.
Traditionally, local winemakers began the celebration. In the main square, torches made of vines were lit and barrels of six-week-old beaujolais were opened. The drink was poured into liter containers, which bore a special name - “Lyon bottle”.
During the Second World War, the French stopped celebrating the feast of the new Beaujolais. This was due to an increase in taxes on the sale of vintage wines. However, in 1985, the tradition resumed.
Now Beaujolais Day is a holiday of international scale. The famous French drink is imported to 200 countries. The number of deliveries exceeds half of all young wine produced in the country.
Beaujolais holiday in Russia
At the end of the 20th century, the festival of young crops came to Russia. For the first time they began to celebrate the Beaujolais festival in Moscow. With the permission of the chairman of the International Wine Association, one of the famous restaurants of French cuisine held a solemn tasting of the drink three hours before midnight. Celebration continued at the Marriott Royal Aurora Hotel, where cask wine was brought on the three horses.
Traditional Russian dishes were served with beaujolais: pancakes with caviar, salmon, stellate sturgeon, stuffed piglet, to emphasize the connection between the traditions of the two peoples.
How to celebrate this day in Russia now
In many large Russian cities, the festival of young wine has become a good tradition. From year to year, restaurants and cafes of French cuisine offer special entertainment programs in honor of Beaujolais.
The plan of the event usually includes a brief excursion into the history of the holiday, live performance of French songs, fun contests, which are rewarded with bottles of young wine. And of course, tasting different varieties of the drink.
For travel lovers, agencies organize special “wine tours” to the homeland of Beaujolais. The trip includes a city tour and a visit to the festival. Not without drinking young wine in honor of the beginning of a new productive year.
Beaujolais festival in Moscow restaurants
Celebrate the wine festival in the capital begin on November 19. A bottle of celebratory drink can be found in any restaurant or cafe specializing in French cuisine. But many institutions go further: they conduct thematic events dedicated to the beginning of the winemaking year.
In 2009, the Carre Blanc restaurant held Beaujolais Day. The holiday has become a very unusual experience for the institution. The interior of the room was changed: the dining halls were decorated with barrels, elements of wine cellars. Pets were resting on the litter.
The first bottle of young wine was opened by the chef, who developed a special menu for the celebration. Visitors were offered simple peasant snacks in addition to a drink.
In the same year, the cafe "Jean Jacques" invited visitors to celebrate the festival with live French music, drinking roasted chestnuts with young wine.
In 2015, special programs of the Beaujolais festival were offered by the restaurants Moscow City, Geraldine, Café The Most, Alpenglyuk. The institutions offered live performance of French songs, a special holiday menu, and prize draws. Some restaurants held a celebration in a modern spirit: with fiery dance music and a light show.
How to celebrate a beaujolais at home?
If you do not want to celebrate the festival surrounded by strangers, you can always throw a theme party for friends. Beaujolais Day is a holiday that does not require special efforts in order to organize it.
It’s enough to decorate the house, pick up music (French folk songs are best) to buy drinks and prepare snacks.
By tradition, the holiday should begin at midnight on the third Thursday of November. Meet the new winemaking year, opening a bottle of young Beaujolais.
How to choose a wine?
Beaujolais Day is a holiday for connoisseurs of good French wine. Therefore, it is worth knowing which drink is best to choose for a celebration.
The price of a Beaujolais bottle ranges from 400 to 2000 rubles per 750 ml. Only a fresh drink is suitable for consumption, so buying it is best in November.
The rich ruby color, sweetish taste and fragrant aroma, characteristic of the wine from Bozho, are fully reflected in Beaujolais Saint-Louis, Beaujolais Village, Beaujolais Blanc. Before serving, the drink is cooled to +12 - +14 ° C so that its qualities are maximally revealed.
What dishes to serve with beaujolais?
The young wine goes well with fresh red berries (cranberries, cherries, strawberries, currants), dishes of red and white meat, low-fat fish and seafood.
Traditionally, beaujolais in France was served with pheasant, partridge, rabbit, grouse, roe deer, wild boar. They successfully emphasized the spicy fruity aroma of the drink.
The symbol of the beginning of the winemaking year is one of the few drinks that go well with egg dishes. This is due to the fact that the beaujolais contains a certain amount of tannins, which create a bitter aftertaste. For wine, you can serve a classic French omelet, sewn eggs.
Fans of sweets can safely combine Beaujolais with sweet fruit desserts, chocolate. A good addition would be pastries with sour berries.
Oddly enough, the drink is not too well combined with cheeses. But if you still want to file a cut, it is best to choose goat cheese or cabrio.
The meat with blood also poorly reveals the taste of Beaujolais, gives the wine bitterness.
Whatever snacks you choose, the main thing in the festival is a bottle of good young wine and a great mood.
The Beaujolais festival that came from France won the love of the inhabitants of many countries. And continues to gain momentum. Perhaps in a few years the festival of young wine will reach the provincial Russian cities.