On the third Thursday of November, French people celebrate Le Beaujolais Nouveau. This is a wine released just weeks after the grapes have been harvested. Parties are held throughout the country and further afield to celebrate the first wine of the season.

Made entirely from the thin-skinned Gamay grape from two appellations south of France’s Burgundy region, the year’s youngest wines are made via carbonic maceration. Whole grapes are tossed into a tank and the process starts right there, each grape fermenting in its own skin.

Because the grapes aren’t crushed, tannins are minimized and fruit flavours maximized, the upshot being a light-bodied, fresh and fruity wine with flavours often described as strawberry, bubble-gum, kirsch and banana. This year the Beaujolais Nouveau features rich black raspberry fruit with a peppery edge and a little licorice sass.

Santé!