“Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!”  “Pardon?” In other words…  “The Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived!”  Perhaps the French are actually on to something here.  Kicking off the holidays begins on the third Thursday of November with the traditional uncorking of this light red wine of the Beaujolais region in France.  In fact, French law mandates that Beaujolias Nouveau not be uncorked until then.  After which, the wine starts flowing straight through the holidays. Although not considered a “serious” wine (and by serious we mean carefully sipping, sniffing, and swirling your quarter-full, over-sized glass of elegantly crafted, perfectly aged, fermented grape juice for the ultimate sensory experience), it will certainly guarantee a good party.  It is meant to be drunk only several weeks after harvest and generally doesn’t age well after several months. So grab a bottle, uncork, tilt the bottom up, generously pour, and thank the French for getting something right. .

Ordering wine in restaurants is an essential step in enjoying your dining experience. You will find that there are two types of restaurants serving wine: simply, those that have a poor wine service and poor wine selections, and those that provide a knowledgeable and helpful wine staff, and stock favorable wines.  When faced with a restaurant with a poor selection of wines or a server with no knowledge of wines, your best bet will be to order something you recognize. Even bad restaurants usually stock some familiar names that you can rely on and that you know are worth the money. A wine list doesn’t have to be lengthy in order to be good. Restaurants that take pride in their wines hand pick them to compliment their menus so you are likely to have a good match with your meal. .