Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est (Presque) Arrivé

Beaujolais grapes via Flickr user KaraianI'm more of a wine drinker than a wine-information-knower, so please allow me to refer to the font of all knowledge to define Beaujolais Nouveau.  From Wikipedia:

"About a third of the [French Beaujolais] region's production is sold as Beaujolais Nouveau, a marketing name created by George Duboeuf for the local vin de l'année. It is the lightest, fruitiest style of Beaujolais and meant for simple quaffing…The grapes are harvested between late August and early September. It is fermented for just a few days and released to the public on the third Thursday of November - 'Beaujolais Nouveau Day'. It is the first French wine to be released for each vintage year…The wines are meant to be drunk as young as possible, when they are at their freshest and fruitiest."

Now, to some, the word "marketing" in the above deserves some emphasis.  Some think this release is more about hype than quality.  Maggie Savarino, Seattle Weekly's wine writer, just posted an article titled "Beaujolais Nouveau's Not Worth the Money." In response to the article, though, Cyril Frechier of Campagne and Cafe Campagne commented that it's also about the harvest celebration and having a good time.

So I am not sure what to think.  If I weren't already booked up this week, I might try to check out one of the many Beaujolais events going on to make up my own mind.  I can't, but maybe you'll want to and have an evening open, so check out some of the Beaujolais events happening. There's even one on Tuesday, November 17 that features the other side (non-Nouveau) side of Beaujolais.

Wine shops often release their tasting schedules the day of, so if I catch any additional ones, I'll add them as well.

UPDATE: Seattle Weekly's Voracious has two tickets to Friday's SODO event to give away.

And check out some of these other posts for more related events: French Food, Wine, & Champagne/Sparking Wine Events.