Gothamist: Synchronize Your Watches . . .

Laren

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 15:22:00 -0500

FYI folks, I have edited/deleted some of the comments on this post and have closed it for further comments. We have a comment policy, and we ask that you abide by it. Thanks.

Autrement qu'etre

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 13:28:42 -0500

Oh poo. I thought I was Charlie Brown in the Peanuts Xmas special, when in fact I'm the Grinch who stole it! Far be it from me to keep anyone from their fun! And lord knows, I've drunk far yuckier early wines in the name of local celebrations (e.g. that green, fizzy, cloudy, sickly sweet stuff one is served with great fanfare in Austria in Sept). It's just that, golly, the Duboeuf hoo-ha strikes me as so eye-rollingly inauthentic. And KeithS: several years ago I lived on Domaine la Garrigue cuvée romaine (?) from Vacqueyras, which then, at least, was $10/btl.

DanChompers

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 13:18:29 -0500

Sure, it's all marketing, but it's still a *gasp* fun idea to drink the first wine of 2004 even though it's grapey and watery and tastes like kool-aid (although I find chilling it a bit helps) Tonight my wife and I will dine in our fave french restaurant and enjoy a number of BNs... and dammit, it will be fun. "Wine is the only thing that makes us happy as adults for no reason" BN, in my book, is just good cheap fun.

KeithS

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 13:00:42 -0500

$10 French red is a tough one, especially outside the Languedoc. That said, at the $15 range you can start getting into some sexy Crozes-Hermitage or Vacqueyras from the south, or some lithe Chinon or Anjou from the Loire.

KeithS

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:58:52 -0500

Beaujolais Nouveau is a brilliant marketing invention, and it's a fun wine to drink. It's obviously not a "serious" wine or a wine for contemplation, but rather an excuse for an annual wine party, and a nifty little preview for the vintage which has just passed. Folks who feel the need to deride it reveal more about their own persnoality than any actual wine knowledge.

Autrement qu'etre

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:55:41 -0500

KeithS: You beat me to it! I wanna know where I can get my mits on good 2000 Bordeaux for $10. : ). My $10 French reds of choice are all from the southern Rhone . . .

Autrement qu'etre

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:51:16 -0500

Hey -- people can drink whatever they like. I still have an adolescent nostalgia for Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill. So, drink all the BN you like and praise it on high -- that's fine. But asserting that it is important to folks who are serious about wine for reasons other than the cash they can make off the hype and then getting snarky with anyone who disagrees is, well, insoutenable.

KeithS

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 12:48:05 -0500

I've spent 5 years working in the wine business, I've published in Wine Spectator, and I've written articles on the 2000 Bordeaux vintage. I know it's an extraordinary vintage, and I also know that good Bordeaux at $10 is practically an impossibility.

Nausea

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 11:58:53 -0500

http://www.erobertparker.com/info/vintagechart1.html - The top few wines on that chart are Bordeaux and are rated "outstanding" or "extraordinary" for the year 2000.

Nausea

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 09:11:05 -0500

Autrement> Bien dit!

angie

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:59:53 -0500

Please review the Comment Policy and stop raining on everyone's drunken parade: - Good comments can disagree with the content in the post, but they never insult the writer of the post, other commenters, Gothamist, other websites, etc. - Good comments are usually pretty short, have a positive/constructive tone, and are open to being contradicted by other readers. - Bad comments insult the writer of the post, other commenters, Gothamist, other websites, etc. - Bad comments are often long, negative in tone, contain profanity, threats, or invective content. - Bad comments go off on tangents or go-off topic, and often contain spam or spam-like content.

Autrement qu'etre

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:55:22 -0500

My family is in the wine business and an old boyfriend was a French wine importer (as in a Frenchman who imported French wines to this country) and with respect to BN all either ever did was laugh and count their money. Yep, it's covered on the teevee -- it's because they are proud to have such a hooplarific export. But drink it? Jamais.

Nausea

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:21:18 -0500

BN "party"? Are you kidding me? No decent Frenchman/woman would ever have or go to one. Maybe your mom did back in the day when all the French wanted to be American...

tien

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 18:12:50 -0500

i remember watching some tv show on the phenomenon of next day shipping on discovery a few years ago and one of the things they covered was beaujolais nouveau. how they managed to bottle, ship and drink it worldwide at the same time despite the time difference.

hotness

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 17:56:58 -0500

My mother is French. I've spent many a holiday season in France. Frankly, I'm not surprised that Nausea didn't experience the Beaujolais Nouveau phenomenon there; would you invite him/her to your Beaujolais Nouveau party?

Nausea

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 16:53:22 -0500

Sassiness is holiness.

jb

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 16:51:51 -0500

I think that's a little oversassy.

Nausea

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 16:18:56 -0500

Hotness> I actually lived in France for two years and have the intelligence to realize that the BN concept is ramped up in its promotions towards Americans. You need to drink more. Really. And if you can only afford a $6-8 bottle of (French) wine then you shouldn't be purchasing that domestically. Since you seem to know France so well, then you'd realize that you can actually buy a quality bottle there for under $10; and not settle for this hyped up junk. That is, unless you're an ignorant American visiting France, which oddly enough does seem to happen on occasion.

hotness

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 15:53:43 -0500

On the Americans? Clearly, Nausea hasn't been in France in late November. Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! Overpriced crap grape juice? The 2003 Beaujolais Nouveau (which, thanks to an exceptional summer, was quite good) was a steal—most bottles were $6–8.

Jen W

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 15:38:15 -0500

I don't think of BN as a great wine, but more as a harbinger (and a buffer against) of the holiday season. It's got it's little window and that's what makes it fun and special.

Janine

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 15:00:31 -0500

I've gotta agree with Nausea, if not his/her tone.

Nausea

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 14:38:00 -0500

Beaujolais is a great marketing feat for the French on the Americans. Any person who appreciates wine knows that Nouveau is overpriced crap grape juice. For $10 a bottle go buy yourself a 2000 Bordeaux instead.