BoJo Nouveau!

#NouveauDay is here! The Beaujolais is ready!

Cities the world over rejoiced today with the arrival of cases filled with the bubblegum of the wine world: Beaujolais Nouveau. I watched some of the footage streaming from New York City. It was as crazy as the opening night of a new Harry Potter movie (minus the geeky costumes). When 12:01 AM hit, the booze stores threw open their doors and a tidal wave of humanity coursed through the aisles, sweeping up every last bottle of BoJo, leaving nothing in its wake. (Ok, maybe it wasn't quite like that, but you get the picture.)

On Twitter, WineTwits joined with the Beaujolais bajillionaire producer Georges Duboeuf to host #NouveauDay. Premise couldn't have been easier: pick up a bottle of BoJo, drink, comment, slap a hashtag on it and share it with the world. I had plans to get together with Holly, Eva and Nita, but you know how life gets in the way. (Pity. It would have been fun!)

Still, I managed to pull off a Pepsi Challenge of sorts: old-school France takes on relative "newcomers" Italy and Canada:

Duboeuf Gamay Nouveau (France) $8.95 - First off, yes, I'm well aware this doesn't actually say "Beaujolais" anywhere on the label; it was made from fruit grown in Ardèche. Whatev. It's still in the nouveau style, still full of that gushing, banana-candy-fruit loop characteristics BoJo is famous for. Simple, nothing too fancy. I liked it.

Novello Rosso Terre di Chieti (Italy) $8.95 - We opened this one up to try with my first attempt at "cheater ravioli" (a blend of three cheeses, Italian sausage and seasoning inside a wonton wrapper. Not to shabby in the end.) Doodle asked to have a sniff; "smells like grapes," she said. It suuuuuuuuuuure does. No kidding - the colour, weight and bright fruit reminded me of a big ol' glass of Welch's.

Reif Estate The Fool Gamay Nouveau (Niagara) $10.95 - Ahhhh. Just as fantastic as last year. A bit more earthiness this time around, but still overflowing with fresh, vibrant red berry aromas and flavours. If you manage to find some in your local LCBO, I do recommend picking some up for Christmas dinner.