Midnight tastings mark Beaujolais Nouveau celebrations in France

France welcomed the new Beaujolais Nouveau in the early hours of Thursday, opened as always at midnight. In central Paris, small crowds gathered in a local bar to taste the young wine with plates of cold cuts and oysters.

Beaujolais can only carry the name if it comes from one of the 85 towns stretching from Lyon to Mâcon, a vineyard area of about 31,000 acres. France remains the main market, buying around nine million bottles a year, while about one hundred countries also import it.

For winemakers and restaurant owners, the November release is above all a simple and friendly moment that puts their work in the spotlight and brings people together around an easy, cheerful wine.