2012-11-16 — /travelprnews.com/ — The legendary Beaujolais Nouveau, this year’s first new French wine arrived to Hungary not on stage-coach or riverboat but on board of an Air France flight completed by a CRJ-1000 aircraft.
The world famous French new wine is traditionally opened and marketed on the third Thursday of November each year. Wine experts say that the quality of the new Beaujolais already indicates the future quality of the wine of the Burgundy region of the given vintage.
The Beaujolais region is the largest wine region within Burgundy. Mostly red wine is produced here on 18 000 hectares. The legendary Beaujolais is made of the “Gamay Noir á Jus Blanc” grape variety since the 15th century. Its popularity is mainly due to the fact that it makes for abundant production and it is highly resistant to extreme weather. The thin-skin grape makes popular wine with low tannins and a high level of acidity. The trend of Beaujoalis Nouveau goes back to the 19th century in France and – similarly to the Hungarian St. Martin day’s red wine – it is put into bottles following 6-8 weeks of barrel fermentation. The new Beaujoalis is transported to the restaurants and shops on the third Thursday of each November, i.e. 15 November this year.
The popularity of Beaujoalis Nouveau is partly due to the fact that its quality already indicates the expected quality of the given vintage for wine experts and wine enthusiasts. That was the reason for transporting the new wine of Burgundy to the interested parties by speedy means of transportation for ages; on galley and stage-coach, then by train and car. The neighboring Lyon was always the first to receive the new wine. Nevertheless, Lyon’s advantage quickly melted in the jet age; Beaujolais Nouveau is flown to its destinations these days.
“The arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau was extremely adventurous this year, as Lyon airport was blanketed by thick fog at departure, so the Air France flight only landed at Budapest Airport in the afternoon after some delay,” said Botond Melles, Hungarian chief representative of Air France-KLM. He added, “As all types of wine, Beaujolais Nouveau is sensitive to vibration, but expert handlers placed the special wine-cases into the cargo compartment of the CRJ type jet aircraft at Lyon St. Exupéry Airport without harming the new wine. We were waiting for the consignment together with the Hungarian partners of Air France and Hungarian wine journalists.”
From Budapest Airport, Air France had the legendary new wine delivered straight to French restaurant Pavillon de Paris located in downtown Budapest for the first tasting. Beaujolais Nouveau is the single red wine which is served cooled (optimally to 11°C) to reveal its fruity taste. Beaujolais is a very light-bodied red wine served before meals, and it is also a good match with various salads and poultry. The French new wine will also be found on board of several Air France flights in upcoming weeks.
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New Beaujolais Arrives With Air France