November in the wine world means time for Beaujolais Nouveau, with all the pomp and circumstance and celebration surrounding the release of this wine around the world. Legally it cannot be released until 12:01 am the third Thursday of November. That’s when you hear proclamations of “le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!”— and millions of corks popping. This year the festivities take place on November 20, 2014. As a wine Beaujolais Nouveau is soft and fruity, very easy to drink. Yet critics deride the wine as being cheap and uninteresting. Well it is cheap inexpensive, usually selling for $10-$12 a bottle. It’s certainly not as complex as a red wine aged for one to two years in oak. Beaujolais Nouveau is a baby, made and released as a finished wine in only four to six weeks after harvest. That’s why in 2014 you’ll be drinking the 2014 vintage later this month. …
