Celebrating Final Wine of the Millennium

At the end of the week before last at eight Kyiv restaurants the celebration of new wine Beaujolais Nouveau was held for the first time in Ukraine. No excessive mental strain is required to figure out that the holiday was brought here from France, where since 1985 it traditionally starts each third Thursday in November. This year in Kyiv the first bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau from the king of this sort of wine, Georges Duboeuf, were opened, however, a day later than anticipated.

Beaujolais Nouveau matures earlier than other sorts of wine due to its particular fermentation process initially starting inside the grape. No barrels are used to store the wine which causes fresh fruit tones to prevail over tannins. To enhance its aroma and elegance the wine is enriched with juice concentrate from Gamay grapes. “This year we decided to take a risk and conduct an experiment to find out whether Ukrainians will take an interest in Beaujolais Nouveau,” Christina Ksinias, General Director of the Dolmart-Ukraine Co., which supplied Ukraine with new wine of this year’s crop, says. “I like wine and want to bring the culture of its consumption to Ukraine. I would like to note that Ukrainians are starting to value wine and to understand there are many more sorts of wine than those they are used to.” Ms. Ksinias also says that new wine is not for sale in retail stores. It has to be consumed within a circle of friends for fun and relaxation after the intensive rhythm of work. Moreover, unlike other sorts of wine, the consumption of new wine should not be postponed. It is generally held that after March 1 it losses its unique qualities.