Beaujolais Nouveau Day is a worldwide marketing phenomenon, largely dreamed up by French wine merchant George Duboeuf in the early 1970s. You can read the full story of how the day came to be, but if you’re here, you probably have a good idea what Beaujolais Nouveau Day is.
If not, here’s the gist: Since the 1950s, winemakers in France’s Beaujolais region, which is at the southernmost end of Burgundy, have raced to bring some of their wines from the current vintage straight to market (after 6 weeks or so of aging). These wines — young, light, and fruity — made with Gamay, are easy-drinkers. Back then the race was to make it to Paris. Over the past half-century the tradition has grown into the largest wine marketing event in the world. Over 65 million bottles are produced, and then rushed to every corner of the globe, as the posters below show. On Beaujolais Nouveau Day, drinkers will open bottle after bottle in cities around the world, from Philadelphia to the Philippines, and everywhere in between — and exclaim “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!”
New Orleans, US (by the French American Chamber Of Commerce) – 2010
Korea – 2009
Port Of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (by the Alliance Française) – 2013
France – 2012
Philadelphia, US – 2012
Macau, China (by the Alliance Française) – 2013
Manila, Philippines (by the French Chamber of Commerce) – 2011
Nairobi, Kenya (by the Alliance Française) – 2012
Canton & Shenzhen, China (by The French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China) – 2014
France – Undated
