Beaujolais Nouveau Day
Beaujolais Nouveau: An autumn affair that sings with joy
Every third Thursday in November, the world, and France, especially, stops what it’s doing. Hearts aren’t racing because of the cold, but because of a red wine celebration that feels as fresh as the wine itself. Beaujolais Nouveau Day is a festival of friendly rivalry, grape-stained memories, and the kind of easy fun that brings people together, whether they’re in Lyon or London.
A toast to tradition: where the magic began
The Beaujolais Nouveau tradition goes way back to a time when wine meant both hard work and pure happiness. After weeks of picking Gamay grapes in the hills north of Lyon, vineyard workers couldn’t resist a tipple of the first young wine. This wine is only a few weeks old, raw, lively, and bursting with berries. It was their way of celebrating the end of the harvest. It was the first clue about how the year’s vintage would turn out.
What started as a local treat exploded into a national, then global, event. The clever hands and relentless drive of winemaker and marketer Georges Duboeuf helped push Beaujolais Nouveau past French borders, with a catchphrase everyone knows today: “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!” In other words, the wine’s here, quick, get your glass before it’s gone.
By the 1970s, it was official: this was a party. To stop the confusion of different regional release times, the law decided in 1985 that all Beaujolais Nouveau would hit the shelves on the third Thursday of November. Since then, it’s become a global ritual: at exactly 12:01 a.m., corks fly and glasses are filled in over 110 countries.
Why autumn, why Thursday?
The grape harvest, or vendange, finishes in early autumn. The Gamay grapes, the only kind allowed for this wine, are rushed to be bottled after just six or seven weeks of fermentation. This quick turnaround means the wine is vibrant, light, and easy to drink. It’s the “first taste” of the year’s fruit, the closest thing you can get to bottling French autumn.
There’s also something pleasingly egalitarian about its strict Thursday release time: no matter how high or humble you are, nobody can open a bottle before 12:01 that morning! You won’t find fancy châteaux or cheating restaurants getting ahead. Instead, you’ll see people everywhere, lined up outside wine shops to grab the first bottle.
Where in the world are the Beaujolais vineyards?
You won’t stumble across the Beaujolais vineyards by chance, they’re tucked in a pocket of France that feels both quietly proud and a bit off the well-trodden path. It’s a patchwork of rolling vines, stretching between the lovely picturesque towns of Mâcon and Lyon. This is the heartland of Beaujolais, and honestly, it’s a landscape that has “wine adventure” written all over it.
The Beaujolais vineyard, le vignoble du Beaujolais, sits in the north of the Rhône department and spills a toe or two into a handful of communes in Saône-et-Loire. That’s right: Beaujolais bridges two departments, claiming bits of each in its sweep. Technically, or rather administratively, it’s linked to the illustrious Burgundian vineyard family. Yet ask anyone who’s spent a morning on these slopes, and they’ll tell you: Beaujolais has a spirit all its own.
The geography of the region gives the wine much of its charm. The vineyards cover the foothills of the Beaujolais mountains (les monts du Beaujolais), where rocky soil gives a certain finesse to the Gamay grape. It’s on these slopes that growers have managed to pull astonishing freshness from their vines for centuries.
If you’re plotting this on a map, Beaujolais stretches about 55 kilometres from north to south, sandwiched between the River Saône to the east and those rugged hills to the west. The northern edge sidles up just below Mâcon, a charming town that itself is part of Burgundy wine country. Southward, the vineyards run almost all the way to the edge of Lyon, France’s foodie capital.
What does Beaujolais Nouveau taste like?
Let’s not overthink this wine: Beaujolais Nouveau is about fun, not being complicated. It’s like meeting an exuberant puppy who hasn’t quite learned to behave, light in body, zippy with flavours of strawberry, raspberry, and candied violets, sometimes with a playful hint of banana thanks to its peculiar fermentation method. This is a red wine, but nothing like the big, heavy stuff you might usually drink.
Serve it slightly chilled, and with simple communal food: crusty baguette, ripe cheese, or whatever’s on hand and ready to share.
What makes it stand out from the famous wines on the shelf? First, it’s a bright ruby color and genuinely refreshing. The tannins, those elements that dry your mouth out in heavy reds, are barely there, leaving the texture smooth and soft. That lightness comes from something called carbonic maceration, a winemaking trick that keeps tannins mild and lets the fruitiness shine.
Alcohol-wise, you’re generally in for a moderate 12%–13%, so this is a red you can enjoy well into the evening without feeling like you’ve lost the next morning.
Yes, some serious wine drinkers might look down on its youthfulness, calling it too playful or too easy. But who can argue with the numbers? This young wine makes up a massive 30% of all Beaujolais sales, around 15.5 million bottles hit the shelves every year. That’s a lot of glasses raised in November.
Unlike serious reds that demand patience and cellaring, Beaujolais Nouveau insists on being drunk right away, usually within the first year. With all its fruit and unpretentious air, why wait? When the bottle is winking at you, you have to open it!
In 2025, the release day is Thursday, November 20. If you’re reading this today somewhere in the UK, mark that date and prepare to raise a glass alongside wine lovers across the Channel and far beyond
Beaujolais Nouveau’s price tag
Of course, everyone wants to know: how much does this festive drink cost?
Thanks to the time difference, it’s often in Japan that Beaujolais Nouveau gets its first toast, hours before the bottles even start popping in France. The Japanese embrace is legendary, launch parties, themed events, even spa baths! Over there, the price can get truly expensive.
Back home in France, it’s different. Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be a simple pleasure, not a splurge. At your local supermarket, you’ll typically find a bottle for around 10€, putting this seasonal celebration firmly in “treat yourself” territory without causing any wincing at the till. Of course, if you decide to savour it in a restaurant, soaking up the atmosphere with friends, the bill can creep above 30€, especially in a city bistro or a venue with a bit of panache.
Whether you’re after a cheeky weeknight toast or a grand November soirée, there’s a Beaujolais Nouveau for every table (and every wallet).
If you fancy digging a bit deeper or want the latest details straight from the source, have a look at the official Beaujolais Nouveau website in France. You’ll find everything you need to know about this spirited wine.
How to celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau in Britain
You might not have rolling vineyards on your doorstep, but that’s no excuse. More and more UK venues, from the sophisticated July on Charlotte Street to Llanerch Vineyard in Wales, are joining in this French wine party. Some go all out, transforming wine bars into French “guinguettes” for the night, while others keep it low-key.
You can easily host your own Beaujolais party at home: put out some classic French snacks, a good and balanced cheese board, gather your favorite people, and when the clock strikes midnight (or dinner time, we won’t tell), open a bottle and toast to simple pleasures!
What’s your story?
Have you ever queued at dawn outside a wine shop, or stumbled home at midnight with purpled teeth and a new set of friends? What’s your best Beaujolais Nouveau memory? We’d love to hear your stories! Share them in the comments or send us a photo of your best November soirée.
And next year, if you haven’t tried it, why not grab a bottle and join a tradition that’s wonderfully, joyously alive? À la vôtre, mes amis.
