Season's 1st shipment of Beaujolais Nouveau arrives in Japan
TOKYO —
This year’s first shipment of Beauloais Nouveau wine arrived from France at Haneda airport on Saturday.
Japan will uncork the first Beaujolais Nouveau of the season on Nov 17 at a price of 2,300 yen per bottle, Sankei Shimbun reported.
The third Thursday in November traditionally marks the official debut of the new season’s Beaujolais around the world, and the Japanese are the first to get a taste of the light red wine because of their time zone.
A spokesman for importer Suntory said that Japan will import about 7.2 million bottles of the wine this year, Sankei reported. However, with the economy in recession, fewer Japanese are expected to raise their glasses this year.
The record for Japan was 12.5 million bottles sold in 2004.
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31 Comments
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0
mitoguitarman
"Japan will uncork the first Beaujolais Nouveau of the season on Nov 17 at a price of 2,300 yen per bottle, Sankei Shimbun reported."
It's such a joke to anyone who's lived in Europe, where the price is about ¥230 per bottle.
0
hoserfella
the annual French joke on the Japanese lives on..
2
Godan
For the 20 years I have lived here, I have never understood the hype. Can anyone explain to me why this is important?
2
paulinusa
2300 Yen for grape juice with low alcohol content.
-1
YongYang
Don't be fooled Japan, don't be fooled.
@Godan, if you've been for twenty, surely you ask a local / work it out? It's called...
0
jinjapan
very simple. french know japanese are suckers & have no real knowledge of wine .
1
jinjapan
on the other hand, when traveling overseas, i'm sure you'd find the price of japanese sake much much higher than what it would cost in japan.
Moderator
Back on topic please.
2
naruhodo1
Disagree jinboy, cc (canadian club whiskey ) for example, is half the price in Japan. Taxes and terrifs decide the prices of imports such as alcohol, gasoline and tobacco.
0
naruhodo1
So the only conclusion to the price hike is the gimik. Just like in Canada, roses around Valentines day quadruples. I hope that helps Godan.
3
choiwaruoyaji
Good! I always enjoy a Beaujolais nouveau party with friends at this time of year.
If you choose a nice one, I think Beaujolais nouveau tastes good and the color is beautiful.
Anyway it's much more fun having a wine-tasting party with friends than listening to grumpy foreigners who think themselves far too superior to ever touch a drop of Beaujolais nouveau...
-4
YongYang
@Choi that hasty generalization is a fallacy. Plus, its the rip off hype, that doesn't concern you? That you are your 'wine' buddies are essentially eating cookies that haven't been baked? 'Enjoy'. At least go for the AOC.
1
Godan
I get your point, YongYang. It's just as a simple beer drinker, not into wine whatsoever, I was wondering if this wine was something "special" that I was missing.
Thanks, Naruhodo. Like P.T. Barnum said....
-1
YongYang
@Godan, nothing simple about being a beer drinker, don't under sell yourself. The people that bring the NB into Japan certainly want the locals to believe it is 'special', it is not. It's marketing and, well, I say lies, essentially. What's more they serve it... cold.
0
jinjapan
naruhodo1 that's correct. it is the gimmick . marketing is the key it seems & the news outlets, like this article for example, help keep the prices inflated .
4
smartacus
Why do so many of you post insulting remarks about Japan just because they enjoy Beaujolais Nouveau? If they enjoy the wine, good luck to them. None of you has the rignt to bash Japanese society over it.
1
some14some
it is same like Japanse people are proud of four seasons, It was IMPORTANT news item during Bubble Economy Era.
2
Hategobo
7.2 million bottles. Surely they must have some of last years shipment left, no need to import more :)
3
mikediab
it's commercial disguised as news,but since most japanese i come across behave like tourists just landed from another planet,it could be news to them.
2
zichi
The first shipment of Beaujolais isn't just something which happens in Japan but also Britain and other European countries.
¥2,300 is not a high price for a wine?
0
FightingViking
It might even taste better since it will no longer be "nouveau"...
1
PT24881
"Jacqueline Miyagaya Surely they must have some of last years shipment left, no need to import more :) It might even taste better since it will no longer be "nouveau"..."
Beaujolais Nouveau or Primeur are young wines, used as commercial gimmicks as per a marketing campaign, it seems that this wine itself will not taste better afterward unlike the 'Grand Cru Classe"..
-1
smithinjapan
Last year I got three bottles of this wine as gifts and was VERY surprised when the first one I picked up was actually a PET bottle. Yes, Beau Jolais is actually so cheap they now ship in plastic bottles. Imagine putting that in your wine cellar to age! Of course you can't. It does serve as a nice supplement to a salad vinaigrette or other recipes that call for red wine vinegar, but it's about the cheapest wine you can get for drinking. Was talking about this with a Japanese guy who actually proclaimed himself to be a professional wine taster but didn't know Beau Jolais is not very good quality wine.
Unbelievable. The French are laughing all the way to the bank.
5
zichi
And the Beaujolais Nouveau Festival in France,
At the strike of midnight on the third Thursday of every November, France erupts in massive celebration in honor of the unveiling (or should we say uncorking) of the Beaujolais Nouveau wine. Beaujolais Nouveau, which is a young wine (only 6 weeks old) comes from a region south of Burgundy in France. It’s rumored that the light-bodied and fruity wine must be finished by Christmastime and the French government has put regulations delaying the wine’s release until the third week in November. This means the arrival of the new Beaujolais is warmly welcomed in France. All over the country, grand traditions have developed in honor of the release of the Beaujolais, with the biggest festival taking place in Beaujeu, the capital of the Beaujolais region.
2
gyouza
@smith
It might not as bad as you might think. In France, you can actually bring your own bottle to the grocer and have it refilled from their bulk stock, saves money. Not vintage wines of course, but some reasonable plonk for dinner, etc.
4
okimike67
Any excuse to drink is a good excuse. I think it was just created so the wine makers could pop a few Francs into the wine cellar (most likely after a bummer year). Its quaint to have a bottle to celebrate what is to come, real wine worth drinking some years down the road.
1
TakahiroDomingo
i prefer any nihonshu anytime to that cheap frenchy wine, although i am very partial to good down to earth spanish wines
0
Seawolf
Yes, BN is overpriced, but it's not that the winegrowers would get rich with it: To arrive in Japan in time, all the wine is actually flown in by airplane, hence the aformentioned plastic bottles, to save on weight and thus bring down the sales price, I think Jusco did it last year. As for the "hype", I think most of the negative remarks should go to those bottles selling for more than 10.000 yen! Just because it got a famous owner or excellent reviews many years ago, doesn't mean anything plus with today's understanding of what's happening during fermentation and the help of modern technology to influence this, it is possible to make wine much cheaper and still tastes great.
0
pawatan
I'm not sure why people get so wound up with what others do or do not like. Some like Daiginjo, some like One Cup Ozeki. One person's taste is not more correct than another's.
0
Riffraff
I was drunk, that is why I bought it........... this wine is a "festival wine" not meant to be a high quality product, it is "raw" wine that is meant to be drank within a year or so, it will go bad in the bottle if left too long..... and yes, it is overpriced here.
0
cactusJack
The Beaujolais Nouveau news in Japan is just one big infomercial.
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