Beaujolais Nouveau? Vin Nouveau?

Just last month, one of the most influenced wine events in the whole wine sector would be the “Beaujolais Nouveau Day”. Beaujolais Nouveau is a red wine made from Gamay grapes in the Beaujolais region of France and fermented for just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November in the current year. But there is a question, is Beaujolais Nouveau is the only one (or maybe “the wine”) that can drink in the current year?

In 2005, because of the success of Beaujolais Nouveau, there were 55 AOCs of producers in France lobbied the government to get the permission to make nouveau (new) wines on the same time. Less than half of these AOCs are required to have the words “primeur” or “nouveau” printed on the label.  It means that more followers or competitors want to share the “new wine” market.  The question is: Can they copy the same success by following the concept of Beaujolais Nouveau/New wine? Maybe we can get some enlightenment by analyzing product life-cycle.

The product life-cycle is a lifespan of product or ideal separated by four steps of INTRODUCTION, GROWTH, MATURITY and DECLINE.

From 1960s, the style of Beaujolais Nouveau has been increasingly spread from Beaujolais to worldwide.  In 1992, at its peak, more than half of all Beaujolais wine was sold as "Beaujolais Nouveau". From 1960s to 1992, it is a period of INTRODUCTION to GROWTH of “new wine”product life-cycle, from lowest sales to brand-establish and sales-rising in the market.  In 2013, Behind the big annual campaign of Beaujolais Nouveau in Japan, one of the most biggest and mature Beaujolais Nouveau consuming country, producers are looking to the rest of Asia to pick up the slack because of stagnating and falling sales in Europe market. 

The Market becomes mature and saturated and product’s growth slows down, competitors from the region of France is knocking the door for sharing the market that Beaujolais Nouveau had, the result of the concept of ”new wine” will go to next step-the DECLINE.

There is a old saying in marketing sector and management sector: “The first people who comes up with ideal is genius, but the second one who comes up with the same ideal is follower.”  As the followers like Cote du Rhone, Macon and Gaillac, please cross your finger and pray what I analysis won’t happen in the future.  

NOT-SO-CHEAP THRILLS

When one of the most experienced Wine Masters in the world is teaching you the finer nuances of tasting wine, you do tend to listen. Over time, with enough listening, you even begin to learn a thing or two.

Something a lot of us struggle with is “how do you teach someone to taste??” I mean, we were all born with a tongue and a nose – we can smell, we can taste. What else is there?

What we’re learning in fact is not tasting or smelling; but differentiating! I have tasted my fair share of wine in the past, and in all that time I have enjoyed it without any problems. Going through all these systematic tastings however, I am suddenly learning to single out unique smells and tastes from the obvious “wine” flavor that I so love.

It’s a lot like looking at a work of art. You have the option of looking at something, appreciating it, and moving on; or you can step a little closer and take a look at the individual streaks of paint and the impressions made my the tiny hairs of the paintbrush as the artist once caressed his vision to life.

You could of course decide that you couldn’t really care for such details, but at this stage of my wine naissance, just the thrill of discovering that hint of pineapple or the massive slap of oak propels me further along this adventure.

A small part of me is worried though about losing my wine-innocence. I like being able to enjoy wine for what it is without really thinking about it much. I hope I can still continue to do so since fine wine is a pleasure I most certainly can’t afford as often as I like to drink.

Learning to taste is brilliant no doubt, but I only wish to still be able to appreciate the stroke-less beauty of the cheap prints that adorn the walls of my own room at the end of the day.