Versus: Beaujolais Nouveau & Anything Else
Some Francopheliacs were very annoyed with my column last week, an op-ed about the the emperor's no clothedness of Beaujolais Nouveau. Well, OK, I bought a bottle of this year's wine to put it to the test, the George DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau since that's what gets shoved in everyone's face at the grocery store. I pitted it against the fruity comfort of family holidays past. The results:
Beaujolais Nouveau vs. Manischewitz Concord Grape Kosher Wine - Though I prefer the blackberry, the sweet grape flavor of New York's finest Maneschewitz hits you like the first bite of a PB&J. It tastes exactly like a 50/50 grape juice and red wine, but the surprising acidity keeps the sweetness from being to cloying, and it finishes with a subtle note of prune. Reminds me of grandpa, Na zdrowie. More than two glasses might induce a headache, but still far easier to suck back than a glass of Nouveau, which tastes almost thin and vinaigrette like in comparison. For the yams and cornbread stuffing, I'd rather go Kosher.
Beaujolais Nouveau vs. Knudsen Grape Spritzer - Going back to taste the wine after the soda hardly qualifies as a fair fight, worse than above. The Nouveau now tastes exactly like a conglomeration of the morning after a party and what's left in everyone's glasses. The soda is sweet and uncomplicated. The Beaujolais Nouveau is sour and uncomplicated. With a table full of savory, I'd rather go sweet, and add my own booze.
Beaujolais Nouveau vs. Westcott Bay sparkling cider and bourbon - An off dry cider made in the San Juan islands... Wait, this just isn't even fair.
Beaujolais Nouveau vs. Gekkeiken plum wine & a splash of soda: Nailed it. Plum wine may be thick and sweet, but the flavor and aroma rings true to the fruit and goes so well with the Thanksgiving meal. Cut it with some soda, and you have a beverage to cut through all that rich food, with it's tangy sweet and bubbles. The taste also highlights the fact that the Beaujolais Nouveau isn't really reminding me of any specific fruit or berry at all.
Beaujolais Nouveau vs. Pasek Cellars cranberry wine - Points for being local (Mt. Vernon) and holiday appropriate, this cranberry wine tastes like a spritzer without the bubbles. It's made from Northwest cranberries, and Pasek also sells blackberry wine. If you want to please everyone, including grandma, and start a tradition, this is your bottle. Start looking now, though. It has a following, and wine shops have a hard time keeping it in stock this time of year. Maybe they should stack it to the heavens the way some stores stack George DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau.
3 comment(s)
Andrew says:
I know Beaujolais Nouveau isn't very good, but could you give a shout out to Cru Beaujolais? Every time someone talks about how awful Nouveau is, I imagine the sales of the good stuff tanking right along with it.
Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 19 2009 @ 11:09AM
Ploni Almoni says:
It's nice that you mentioned a kosher wine, but why one that reinforces all the bad stereotypes of kosher wine?
(Yes, I know it was a joke, but…!)
For what it's worth, in 2001, the Wall Street Journal rated Abarbanel's Beaujolais Nouveau as one of the five best nouveau wines they'd tasted that year.
And, like all Abarbanel wines, it's kosher!
Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 19 2009 @ 1:04PM
Haj says:
Ah, Maggie, I share your rage. But Georges Duboeuf? What did you expect? We tried a Chermette Beau Nouveau tonight that everyone felt beat out the Duboeuf by a long shot. Plus, the Chermette costs less! One customer said when describing the Duboeuf: "tastes like cherry chapstick." The crowd sighed then laughed in agreement. Moral of the story: look around and don't listen to critics or look to wine stacks in the grocery store. Otherwise, you'll be buying the Wine Spectator's top wine of 2009, the Columbia Crest Cab Sauv: "Ripe in flavor, with a vivid array of black currant, blackberry, violet, black tea and black pepper aromas"-- gosh, that pretty much describes most of the red wines in the Washington section at grocery stores. I can find far better stuff for lower prices, and even be supporting the small wineries.
Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 19 2009 @ 10:21PM