Now the question is, is it a myth, a fad or a scam? At the risk of insulting some vinophiles, here goes. This is not a rant but simply a personal opinion.
An old saying states that "if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck". Can one say the same about wine?
A few years after we went into business, the "Beaujolais Wine Festival" came upon. Held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, it seemed to hold promise. We went for two years only. The reason being that we were not impressed.
First of all, French grapes are on the wine until September – late. Then we get the Festival 2-3 months later – "nouveau" alright!
The Convention Centre was full of vinophiles everywhere swishing their wine. Swishing is just a few moves to determine clarity, bouquet, legs and taste.
And so we hear the descriptive expressions like "unique, different, light bodied, ohh", and so on. Having had a few sips of the Beaujolais Nouveau, we determinted that:
Clarity – A
Body – F
Bouquet – D
Taste – D
Just another "Chateau Last Night"
As we have said many times before, a wine is as good as its age (limited by the quality of juice used). These "Beaujolais Nouveau" are green, very young and simply not ready for consumption.
Was it a scam? Not really! Strictly good business. When a crop is harvested and fermented, it normally takes 2+ years for the producers to get their money back as it must age before even hitting the shelf. Now with this "fad", part of the crop can be sold without aging (thus the name) for a near immediate return. Simple math.
At least they paid a marketing guy to make a nice label for it.