Beaujolais nouveau is so-named because it is the first wine of the season from the Beaujolais region (near Lyon). There are all sorts of rules which define a Beaujolais Nouveau wine. The grapes must be Gamay and picked by hand. The wine is fermented by carbonic maceration and is pasteurized so that the wine can be consumed very soon after the harvest. Although the government started to allow the first wine of the year to be sold on 15 November in 1951, it wasn't until the 70s that media hyped the race to Paris with the first bottles of wine after the harvest. Now a popular event, the government changed the date in 1985 to the third Thursday in November for weekend marketing. Tradition states that Beaujolais Nouveau cannot be sold before midnight on the 15th November. Drink your Beaujolais wine chilled and don't wait too long - this wine doesn't get better with age. If you're looking for good places to go in Chamonix, try Cha Cha Cha and Elevation.
