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The fourth Thursday in November is of course American Thanksgiving. BUT the third Thursday is a special day in France. It celebrates the harvest and in particular the arrival of the new season's beaujolais. It's customary to get together for dinner and sample the brew in full Gallic party mode.

Even in Australia, French people and their friends meet on this evening. I'm a bit jetlagged and won't be doing the usual gadding, but I'm about to head to the kitchen and fix coq au vin just for the family. We'll have to make do this time with last season's wine, but it will at least be beaujolais!!!

The toast is:

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!

Santé!

Sounds like fun! Beaujolais!

AussiePam;1063747 wrote: The fourth Thursday in November is of course American Thanksgiving. BUT the third Thursday is a special day in France. It celebrates the harvest and in particular the arrival of the new season's beaujolais. It's customary to get together for dinner and sample the brew in full Gallic party mode.

Even in Australia, French people and their friends meet on this evening. I'm a bit jetlagged and won't be doing the usual gadding, but I'm about to head to the kitchen and fix coq au vin just for the family. We'll have to make do this time with last season's wine, but it will at least be beaujolais!!!

The toast is:

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!

Santé!


Good for you Pam.

I have to admit that i am a bit of a grumpy when it comes to Beaujolais nouveau. I think it's over hyped for a new wine. I tried it once and just didn't like it. We prefer a Chardoney with some nice mature Cheddar. It's why i love Christmas so... The chance to spoil yourselves with food and no-body cares if you drink too much and fall asleep. I'm not a drinker by nature but a nice glass of chilled Chrdoney with the Christmas dinner is wonderfull.

Enjoy your **** o van.

Now there's no need to bleep out the word coq spelt the British way!!!

enjoy!:-4

Thanks Odie, Oscar, Chonsi. I drink mostly red wine, and prefer merlot, cabernet, grenache, shiraz grapes as a whole to beaujolais. But this is a tradition.

Gotta go check on the coq au vin. The house smells wonderfully of garlic and thyme and bay leaves... ahhhh...

You did indeed, JAB!! Thankyou. And lovely to see you!!!

fuzzy butt;1063793 wrote: Oh pammy you're bringing back memories now . The schools french teacher used to take all the year 12 girls out for this festival after exams





You like merlot? Cabernet? hmmm so do I, although I prefer the white grape ............but you can keep the shiraz......My palet says "chalkie" ....not the best.


Hi Fuzzy Butt - awesome to see you!!! I'm about to serve an apéro (should be kir, but I don't have) and when it gets dark, we'll all eat. Sounds like a great French teacher!!!

I'm hopeless at saying all the right words about wine. Just know that I like it red and mellow, not too tanninish, not too fruity, not too dry, not too sweet... and lighter rather than heavier. I've walked the vineyards of Burgundy, and attended tasting seminars in Bordeaux.. but am still hopeless at spouting the appropriate verbiage. Can go through the motions though of appreciating le premier nez, then the colour, then the warmed aromas... the first taste etc... grin. But with me it's all show biz.

oscar;1063751 wrote: Good for you Pam.

I have to admit that i am a bit of a grumpy when it comes to Beaujolais nouveau. I think it's over hyped for a new wine. I tried it once and just didn't like it.Good lord you're not *meant* to like it! You're meant to buy a couple of bottles on the way home from work and open it with great applause, put out some cheese and biscuits[1] and spend the next hour laughing at the way you can still taste the French peasant feet that trod the grapes. It always reminds me of roughing it as a student and drinking Hungarian Bulls Blood with a bunch of mates and feeling completely happy with life.





[1] and, on reflection, olives, green, marinaded, unstuffed.

I heard that this year's harvest was going to be one of the worst since '75's harvest, due to less than favorable weather.