St. Petersburg Garden

St. Petersburg Garden

Friday, November 19, 2010

A "Nu" Celebration


Ah, November. The time of year for pumpkins, leaves to change color, Thanksgiving, families to gather and most important of all the uncorking of the new vintage of Beaujolais. That's right my friends, November marks the worldwide celebration of Le Beaujolais Nouveau.

I know, some of you may not know what this is. I'm shocked. How can this be possible? Since this is the season of peace and joy I'll let it slide and explain.

On the third Thursday of every November, France celebrates the uncorking of the new Beaujolais wine. The wine is only 6 weeks old and comes from the Burgundy region in France. Not only are there celebrations all throughout France but all throughout the world. This is where we benefit. Now, of course I would love to hop on a plane to France and celebrate this festival they way it should be but until that day comes I have to work with what I'm given.

The celebration made its way to San Diego where we caught up to it in the Gaslamp Quarter. Our favorite version of the Beaujolais Nouveau is from Georges Doboeuf. Lucky us! The celebration this year kicked off with a Nu Beau block party at the Gaslamp Museum Park . It was a circque celebration with musicians & performers.


We arrived at the Museum Park to pick up our "passports" and receive our first tasting of the new harvest. We knew we wouldn't be disappointed. This wine is always a hit and once again we were in love. As if I needed yet another reason to love France. I could have stayed here all night. Music, wine, stars. Mike's rumbling belly. Uh oh. Dinner. Ok, so maybe it was time to eat.

Our passports had a list of all restaurants participating in the event. Perfect. We decided on a place called Henry's Pub. I know, not very French but it was one of they places giving out complimentary tastings. This is most important in choosing a place. We have our priorities.

And then the unexpected happened. We were just in it for the wine, we weren't expecting a bonus. It's always interesting how things turn out. We don't go out much. We couldn't pass up an occasion like this. Mike had wanted to choose another restaurant. I insisted on this one.

We don't usually meet people when we go out. That has been one of our biggest complaints about living in San Diego. It's one of the reasons we're thinking about leaving. That's when it happens of course. You meet a nice person. Someone who's real. You don't meet many of those anymore. We met a person who clicked with us, someone you felt like you've known even though you just met. We had an great time. A fun time. Isn't that what it's all about?

We thought it would just be a night of new wine but it turned out to be a night of new friends. It definitely was a "nu" celebration after all. We can thank Georges. And France. Vive le France!

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