by Istvan Pentek
After the transport speed had increased and the product had appeared on international market, the 70’s required international regulation for the launching date of this wine. The selected date was the third Thursday of November and since then, a red wine celebration is organized all around the world. On this day, the wine is launched with much pomp in 120 countries around the globe. In order to coordinate the launching events, the wine is transported by airplane. Air France is usually the official partner of the events. Some consider the success of this fresh wine a good marketing move of the 20th century; one that has helped quite a simple wine reach impressive sales quota. Nevertheless, this wine is certainly responsible for the world fame of the area.
It is a red wine made of Gamay grapes, a variety that has a great production capacity, a thin skin, intense fruity flavors and a reduced content of tanini. The production method, called carbonic maceration, is what makes the difference; the harvested fruits are carefully transported to the wine cellar without breaking the grapes and whole bunches are introduced into tanks. After the tanks are airsealed, the interior air is changed with CO2, so fermentation takes place inside the grapes without any air present. In a few days, due to the pressure created during fermentation, the grapes explode and release a liquid that is full of flavors and color. After this process, the wine is filtered, cleared, bottled up and ready to be delivered. The result is a very fresh wine, with intense fruity and flowery flavors, good acidity and almost no taninis.
The wines made in the Beaujolais area that use this sort of technology, are classified as Beaujolais Nouveau and Primeur. From the quality point of view, there are no significant differences between the two categories, but the Nouveau
can be sold until the 31st of August of the year following production, while the Primeur can be sold only until the 31st of January.
In Romania, this wine making style has been intensely used during 2004 – 2005, when several wine producers have launched, at the end of November, some new red wines. Of all these producers, the only one who has remained consistent and, for 10 years now, is proving the wine potential of the Romanian vine-yards in this area of activity, is Vinarte. The Romanian wine producer shall launch this year the 10th edition of this friendly wine, under the commercial name of Autumn Flower. Last year, Floare de Toamnă (Autumn Flower) came with a surprise regarding the varieties used in production; until 2012 they used grapes of Fetească Neagră, Merlot and Drăgășani Black, but in 2013 the Drăgășani black grapes were changed with Pinot Noir, therefore, this year we can also expect some surprises. In the previous years, the production was finished in only a few weeks, this is why we recommend that you keep an eye on this wine at the end of November and purchase it during the first days after its launch, otherwise you risk having to wait another year to be able to taste this special wine.
