It’s beaujolais nouveau time!

The flesh and juice of red wine grapes is colorless. Red color is found in the skin, which contains certain aromatic elements and tannin (necessary in wine structure and longevity). The ripe grapes are crushed lightly and placed in fermentation vats, skin on. During fermentation, heat and alcohol releases the red color from skin forming a dense purple in the must (fermenting juice, pulp and skin). Your favorite food columnist had once written about this in the series “Wine Here, Beer There and Distilled Sprits Everywhere.”

However, in the manufacture of Beaujolais Nouveau, The Gamay grape is harvested by hand (just like Champagne!) and the wine is processed using carbonic maceration or whole berry fermentation (harvested grape or must is pressed after only three days) and this method reduces the extraction of the astringent tannins from the grape skin; it is then pasteurized.

The wine is ready just six to eight weeks from the harvest and is designed to be drunk immediately and in general, not to be kept for more than a year. For your favorite food columnist, the latter rule is not a problem; no bottle of wine lasts in his refrigerator for more than six months!

 The origin of this wine is very humble. Local folks in Beaujolais and Lyons invented a “quickie” wine because they were very thirsty (better wines take time to mature). The local bars and bistros served this wine from pitchers filled from barrels of the local growers. It is an easy wine to drink because of its fruit taste and served lightly chilled, at approximately 13°C; it becomes a festive wine, even better to gulp rather than sipped.

It became very popular and what is popular becomes taxable and in 1938, government, comes in to tax…no, to regulate the activities of the Beaujolais Nouveau.

And in 1951, I was born… no, the UVIB officially recognized the Beaujolais Nouveau. The local tradition has spread to Paris and Georges Duboeuf saw the strategy of marketing Beaujolais Nouveau, a race to Paris carrying the first bottles of the new vintage. In 1970, with a little help from the media, it has become a national event. With more help from media, it spread to other countries in Europe in 1980, then to North America, and in 1990 to Asia. Marketing always has its share of problems like overproduction and competition from other wine regions. 

Your favorite food columnist joined this frenzy for the Beaujolais Nouveau about ten years ago and was very fortunate to join some of the yearly activities right here in Cebu. It was sponsored either by Cheese and Wine Club of Cebu, the Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Degustateursor or both.

This year, Le Club (The French Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines) headed by President Bernard Flour will officially welcome this wine with a Soiree Beaujolais Cebu 2007 as announced in a press conference held last October 25 at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu (MPPC).

And when Hans Hauri, Gen. Manager of MPPC, invites, that is an offer that is most difficult to decline since culinary surprises always comes, not in mere trickles, excuse me, but in a deluge! Take a look at all these food photos during the lunch held right inside MPPC kitchen. And my ever loyal followers know that I have to work very hard, to taste each and every dish served so proper culinary accounting could be made. No wine for me though since 6:00 PM was still hours away!

I do have my favorites like the Quiche Lorraine (Egg and bacon quiche) for appetizers, Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Burgundy) and Ratatouille for the main dish, and the Le Negre (Flourless chocolate cake) for dessert. I try to be as accurate as possible to label my photos and if mistakes are made, my apologies to Chef Luke J. Gagnon because I was too busy tasting the nuances of every dish.

On November 29, 2007, Marco Polo Plaza, (Cebu Veterans Drive, Nivel Hills, Cebu City, phone 253-1111 (Cebu) 888-1263 (Manila), www.marcopoloplazacebu.com ) and  Le Club (The French Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines) will join the rest of the world to welcome  Beaujolais Nouveau by sponsoring the  Cebu Soiree  Beaujolais 2007. The Grand Ballroom will be transformed into a Parisian Salon where guests can enjoy the harvest of the vine and taste some of the finest dishes in France.