A bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau may travel a long way, but Beaujeu makes its release a reason to stay together. Les Sarmentelles begins on the Wednesday before November’s third Thursday, turning the arrival of the new vintage into a local celebration.[2]
The town’s history traces the public festival to 1989. Earlier release-night gatherings had been smaller affairs for growers, merchants and their guests, who accompanied the departing wine trucks at midnight. Beaujeu wanted to bring the public into that moment. Its account describes tasting routes accompanied by bands, torch-bearing participants and a procession of flaming wheelbarrows.[1]
The organiser now describes five days of tastings, concerts, markets and shared meals. More than 300 volunteers help make it happen, according to the town. That is the detail behind the bottle: a place organising its own party around wine, with neighbours doing the work. The recurring November occasion is distinct from any particular year’s programme.[1][2]