Red Wine and White Meat

by Mark R. Vogel

Moulin a Vent, unlike its other Beaujolais brethren, is more concentrated, more tannic, less fruity, and not only capable of, but required to age. Moulin a Vent can age ten years or more. (The other crush can be aged but usually not as long as Moulin a Vent). It is so uncharacteristic of the Beaujolais region that it is sometimes compared to a light Burgundy.

At the other extreme is Beaujolais Nouveau. Beaujolais Nouveau is the lightest, fruitiest, and earliest consumed Beaujolais, although still of good quality. While the standard Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages are aged for one year and then released, Beaujolais Nouveau is put into market seven to nine weeks from harvest.

The lack of aging results in a grapier tasting wine. As stated, the third Thursday in November hallmarks the distribution of Beaujolais Nouveau with most of the world supply being drunk between Thanksgiving and New Years.

Thanksgiving, because of its temporal proximity to the release date, has become particularly associated with Beaujolais Nouveau. But wait. Red wine with turkey? What about the white wine with fish and fowl rule? Well, the red-wine/red-meat vs.

white-wine/white-meat dichotomy is not as hard and fast a rule as popular wisdom would dictate. It is only a general rule of thumb that can be culinarily sidestepped depending on the nature of the wine and the specific dish.

A classic example would be a fish in an assertive, tomato based sauce being paired with a light red. Or, for our current purposes, a hearty fowl such as turkey combined with an ultra light and fruity red such as Beaujolais Nouveau.

Beaujolais in general can affiliate with many foods since it is something of a hybrid. It is a red wine that embraces white wine characteristics, namely serving temperature, (low to mid 50's) and lightness of body.

This heterogeneity renders it a wine-of-all-trades to some degree. If you are going to pair it with a heavier meat dish however, I would recommend at least stepping up to one of the crus, particularly Moulin a Vent.

The two most common Beaujolais producers, which you will find in most liquor stores, are Georges Duboeuf and Louis Jadot. I prefer the Jadot. You can find basic Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages for about $8-$10 a bottle.

Nouveau will be in this price range as well. The Cross will cost in the teens and Moulin a Vent, depending on the producer and vintage, mid teens to mid 20's. Happy Thanksgiving!