It’s that time of the year again, when the first Beaujolais wines of the vintage are released under the “nouveau” appellation. While some consider it a marketing gimmick, my take is that any excuse to celebrate wine, even young wine, is a good one. The Japanese seem to agree with me, as Beaujolais Nouveau is still a big deal, whereas it has lost quite a bit of steam over in the west. In fact, the average Japanese person drinks wine twice a year: for the release of Beaujolais Nouveau, and at Christmas where Champagne is de rigueur (that’s right, Christmas, not New Year’s Eve).
I believe that the seasonal, festive aspect of the event has a lot to do with the Japanese enthusiasm for these rather simple, but enjoyable wines. Think of hanami (cherry blossoms) or tsukimi (full moon viewing) for example. Wine being closely tied to nature and the seasons, it just makes sense that the Japanese get into this harvest celebration of sorts. Plus alcohol is involved. What’s not to love?
Japanese Food and Beaujolais Nouveau
So what Japanese dishes go well with Beaujolais Nouveau? It’s not so easy as one might expect. I was once told to try okonomiyaki, but the sweet sauce totally overpowered the light red on the palate. This year, I decided to try something which would highlight the Gamay’s fresh acidity, especially in 2012, and I figured that deep-fried meats might be the way to go.
So for dinner, we prepared menchi-katsu (deep-fried seasoned ground meat) and karaage (fried chicken) and uncorked my favorite nouveau wine: a Beaujolais-Villages by Lapalu. The matching worked quite well, and I would recommend it, even if there were no real fireworks. There are probably some more directions to explore, especially with certain yakitori, but that’ll be for the next time.
