Beaujolais Nouveau Day: Your guide to the best bottles of red hot off the (wine) presses

My parents repeatedly tell me that throughout the 1980s, Beaujolais Nouveau Day was a really big deal, with people racing to be the first to get the wine into the UK in time for a rowdy Beaujolais breakfast on its release day on the third Thursday of November. Similar scenes could be expected in the US, but it was Japan that really fell in love with Nouveau. At its peak in 2004, it was estimated that 12.5 million bottles were sold there alone.

Unfortunately, the tale went a little sour, much like some of the wine that was released, and its popularity waned significantly. However, the outlook has been steadily improving over the past 10 years, especially in the UK, thanks to an increase in both the quality and the range of producers releasing a wine and the excitement around it.

But what is the great novelty of Nouveau?

Hailing from Beaujolais in the southern end of Burgundy in France and made from the Gamay grapes picked pressed and fermented just weeks ago, Beaujolais Nouveau is the first wine released onto the market from the most recent European vintage. For many decades, this youthful wine was enjoyed exclusively by winemakers and their families and friends in their homes and in the bistros and bars of nearby Lyon.

But, in an act of marketing genius, winemaker Georges Duboeuf, who in the 1960s was in charge of his family’s Burgundian wine empire, capitalised on Beaujolais Nouveau and launched it to an international stage where people couldn’t get enough of it.

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This isn’t about high-brow expensive “collector” wines, it’s about cracking open a bottle with friends, serving up some tasty wintry fare, and having a rollockingly good time when, quite frankly, everything feels a bit bleak.

Beaujolais Nouveau embodies so much that’s wonderful about wine. At its cherry-red core, it is all about joy. It’s conviviality in a glass, celebrating the recent harvest in an unashamedly fun way. And the Gamay grape embodies what many of us are increasingly looking for in red wines: lighter styles, lower alcohol but heaps of flavour, too. But what Beaujolais Nouveau really provides is a sense of irreverent fun, and nowhere captures that better than Swansea.

Known among residents as “Swansea’s Christmas”, Beaujolais Nouveau is still one of the biggest nights out. It gained prominence when Clem Thomas, former rugby captain for Wales, started selling it at his premises, the “No Sign Wine Bar” in the 1980s, importing it directly from Burgundy, where he had a second home. And from there it just grew in popularity across the city.

In fact, if you find yourself in Swansea this evening, you can pop into the local Asda, where you’ll get a free “glow up” when you buy a bottle of Beaujolais ahead of painting the town cherry-red. Tom Priest, buying manager at Asda, told me: “Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in the number of Beaujolais Day events celebrated, so we predict it to grow even bigger this year and in the future!”

With availability in Asda as well as Waitrose, Majestic and The Wine Society, a new wave of smaller growers are producing some really stand-out Nouveau that will be widely available in independent wine shops. Our homegrown talents are also seeking inspiration from our neighbours and releasing an English twist on this French classic too.

Sandridge Barton, a superb producer located in Devon, have released Chub, a Nouveau-style wine that captures the record-breaking harvest that brought exceptional ripeness across their vineyard. I hope this is just the beginning of English producers bottling some of the French joie de vivre.

And this is the glory of Beaujolais Nouveau. Whether you’re celebrating with a makeover in Swansea, or tucking into a fresh barrel at the glorious restaurant Sune in London, which will be selling a whole barrel of Beaujolais, or toasting the Fête du Beaujolais Nouveau in one of the many events taking place around the country, there’s truly something for everyone. It’s the very essence of laid-back hedonism, and a joyous seasonal celebration of wine, so why not try a bottle? And if you want my advice, don’t overthink it, just enjoy it.

Here are some Nouveaus to enjoy now, and a selection of some great value lighter reds.

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Majestic, £12 (£10 in any mixed six), 12.5% ABV

Made by a family-run domain, it’s super fresh with bucket loads of ripe redcurrants, strawberries and wild blueberries – easy-going and appealingly supple with fresh acidity.

Highbury Library, £24, 12.5% ABV

This is a wonderful example of the sheer quality that Beaujolais is capable of, and the tireless work of committed, artisan winemakers who have produced a wine that feels much more than a Nouveau. This is vibrant and energetic – a deeply aromatic wine with ample brambly fruits, amarena cherries and an earthy hint of autumnal woodland, all supported by life-affirming, uplifting acidity.

Waitrose, £12

From the original house responsible for the Nouveau renaissance, this year’s offering is full of black cherry and blackberries, with a touch of youthful grip and keen acidity.

Asda, £7.47, 12% ABV

I don’t know how they’ve done it, but Asda have nailed this Nouveau. It’s a glassful of blueberries, ripe blackberries and sour cherries (a touch like the travel sweets your nan might have kept in a tin in the car), all delivered with mouth-watering acidity. Chapeau Asda!

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Sandridge Barton, £19, 10.5% ABV

A touch wild like the windswept moors of Devon, this light and energetic wine is full of crunchy cranberries, alpine strawberries and hints of fresh rosemary all delivered with appealing tartness.

The Wine Society, £12.95, 12.5% ABV

I adore this wine; it’s full of brooding black cherries, dark plums and just-ripe raspberries, with a touch of sweet spice. It has soft generosity, supple, smooth tannins, and is a glorious example that shows Beaujolais is much more than Nouveau.

Ocado, The Wine Society, from £10.50, 12.5% ABV

This is oh so pretty, a breezy and delicate wine that is an unashamed cherry and strawberry juice extravaganza with a delicate floral lift, too. It may be light on its feet, but it’s definitely not lacking in depth.

Coop, £8, 13% ABV

Effortlessly fun, this highly quaffable Cinsault from Southern France is a glorious combination of fresh cranberries and sweet, sun-ripe strawberries and squishy raspberries. I’d love this a touch chilled, too. It’s the perfect glass if you want to feel like you’re being transported to a little French bistro where the carafes of wine flow alongside your perfect plat du jour.