November 19, 2024 - 1 comments
As always, the third Thursday in November marks the highly anticipated arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau! Beaujolais Nouveau is a young, fruity red wine made from Gamay grapes, produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is unique because it’s meant to be consumed within weeks of harvest, offering a fresh, fruity and vibrant snapshot of the year’s vintage.
As a first step, Natural Beaujolais Nouveau follows natural winemaking principals. This means the grapes are grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. In the cellar, fermentation happens spontaneously, using native yeasts, and the use of additives or filtration is avoided wherever possible.
The main and potentially most important step in creating a Beaujolais Nouveau is carbonic maceration, which involves fermenting whole grape clusters.
But here’s where things get interesting—and a little controversial. Traditionally, to kickstart carbonic maceration, winemakers pump CO₂ into the vat to displace oxygen. This creates the anaerobic conditions needed for intracellular fermentation, where the grapes begin to ferment from the inside before being pressed.
Some natural winemakers argue that adding CO₂ artificially contradicts the philosophy of "natural" winemaking. They prefer to rely on the CO₂ naturally produced by the fermenting yeast to create the right environment. However, others maintain that using a small amount of CO₂ to initiate the process doesn’t compromise the wine's integrity.
The best way to decide is to taste! Simply click the link to discover a list of events dedicated to natural Beaujolais Nouveau near you!
