Nouveau Wines Arrive

November may herald the start of a long, cold winter -- but for wine lovers, it is the time to toast the first wines bottled from the northern hemisphere's grape harvest.

Beaujolais Nouveau from French producers Roland Bouchacourt, Georges Duboeuf, Mommessin, Reine Pedauque, Noemie Vernaux and Bouchard Pere and Fils, Italy's Novio Novello from Zonin and Canada's Nouveau Rouge from Nova Scotia's Jost Vineyards will arrive in Liquor Corporation outlets on Thursday, Nov. 21. They will be released on the traditional third Thursday of the month.

All indications are that it has been a very good year for French, Italian and Nova Scotian wine producers.

Made from grapes harvested less than nine weeks ago, the new wines are light and fresh with an essence of strawberry and raspberry. These characteristics are accentuated when the wine is served slightly chilled.

"Beaujolais Nouveau has something for everyone," said Peter Rockwell, the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation's buyer, special markets. "It offers wine lovers an exciting new experience, and the industry gains a yearly injection of wine awareness that encourages more people to try red wines."

Nouveau-style wines are designed with early drinking in mind, often reach maturity by the Christmas holidays, and are perfect for gift-giving.

What makes the wines unique is the method of fermentation. Great care is taken not to damage the fruit during the picking stage so that fermentation can occur within the skin.

A process that ordinarily takes between 10 and 12 days in regular wine production lasts about 48 hours in the production of Beaujolais nouveau. The resulting juice creates a wine with a full berry hue and a velvety, fresh fruit flavour.