Beaujolais Nouveau -Sunday in My City

The contents of this post did not take place on a Sunday and the only connection to my city is that it was a NATO event and NATO is located in my city. But I haven't had a chance to post about it until now so it's what you get :) I know this is supposed to be mostly a picture post but...Sorry!

Disclaimer: I'm a wine idiot. Really, I know nothing except that it comes from grapes. Further proof of my complete lack of wine knowledge to follow.

I'm not a very social person. I don't enjoy large gatherings of people. Mingle?  I'd rather not!  Many people have trouble saying "No" to things. I have trouble saying "Yes."  That's one reason why my current job is so nice. I'm alone. I work by myself and that suits me just fine. However, there are cultural events that take place being in a NATO community and sometimes I force myself to attend because, however much I dislike social events I do like things cultural. 

Last week the French delegation hosted an event called Beaujolais Nouveau.  All I knew was that it was a wine tasting.  Someone gave me a free ticket.  I forced myself to go.  Upon arrival you're handed a glass (a real glass, not plastic or some other disposable item) and it is immediately filled with wine.  Members of the French delegation walked around with bottles in hand refilling any glass that was even partially empty. I was a little surprised that there was only one one being tasted but it was free and I wasn't about to complain.

This was the only picture of the event I could find online and I didn't have my camera to take any pictures of my own.
[Source]

I didn't drink much as I didn't think drinking and biking was such a great idea!  However, there was also French bread and French cheese (mostly of the brie and Camembert type varieties) and I ate my fill of that. It was all just too good!

Anyway, the next day I saw the following news story title:

Beaujolais Nouveau French Wine Fans Take Red Wine Baths To Celebrate Its 2012 Launch

The story is here. That's when I learned that Beaujolais (a word that's impossible (at least for me) to type correctly the first time or ten) Nouveau is not just some French word for party (have I ever mentioned how terrible my French is?). It's a very specific wine.  I told you I know nothing. 

According to the story: 

"Gamay grapes in France’s Beaujolais region that are used to make the red are "harvested by hand, with no barrel aging, allowing the young wine to retain much of its light, fruity flavor making it a perfect pairing to popular holiday foods."

"As a result of the work of famed négociant Georges Duboeuf, the release of Nouveau has become a world-wide phenomenon with a race to get the first bottles to markets around the globe. More than 60 million bottles will be distributed worldwide,"

..the yearly launch of the Beaujolais Nouveau is celebrated around the world "with parties, special menus and festive cries of 'Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrive!'" Under French law, the third Thursday in November is the "earliest permissible release date" for the popular beverage."

Based on the fact that the Beaujolais Nouveau is already on clearance at the grocery store I'm guessing it's only considered a big deal for the day of release and then the novelty wears off?  I don't know but I picked up a bottle.  

If you want to read more interesting stories from more interesting places, head over to Unknown Mami and check out more Sundays in My City posts.