Toast of the Town

The third Thursday of November is already history in France. And the folks in the town of Beaujolais no doubt are still recovering.

Annually, on this day, the French government allows wine producers in the town north of Lyon to release their Beaujolais Nouveau, the first wine of the 1996 harvest. Moments after midnight each year, the celebration begins and revelers drink up the gamay grape beverage with great exuberance.

As they sip, airplanes packed with cases of the Beaujolais head from France to the United States where, beginning on the third Thursday in November in the United States--half a day later, thanks to the time-zone difference--Americans celebrate the wine’s release.

Many cases of the 1996 vintage already have landed in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, where restaurants and wine sellers will celebrate the debut over the next couple of weeks, with gourmet dinners and other promotions.

“My guests are very, very excited. They’re really going to make it a night out,” said Florence Bonnet, co-owner of Cafe Provencal in Thousand Oaks. The restaurant will host a special Beaujolais Nouveau dinner Monday.

“I think there’s a lot of people living in this area who have traveled all over the world, especially in France,” Bonnet said, “and they share that love for food and wine and warmth.”

Unlike most wines, the ruby-colored Beaujolais Nouveau is not aged in barrels and does not age gracefully in the bottle.

Rather it is a quickly manufactured and consumed wine, fermented, bottled and placed on the market between mid-October and mid-November. The relatively simple wine is at its best only for about three months after its release.

The wine’s low-overhead production method keeps it affordable for the public and the fruity, light non-bitter taste is generally appealing. It also is best suited to stodgy comfort foods rather than gourmet cuisine.

Jean-Claude Guerin, food and beverage director of Capistrano’s restaurant in Oxnard, lights up at the mere mention of Beaujolais Nouveau. Having grown up in Burgundy, France, near Beaujolais, the release has always been a special event.

“In Burgundy, it is the day you invite family and friends and you may get drunk a little bit,” Guerin said. “You have good food, not fancy food, but traditional food. In a way, it marks a little bit the beginning of the holiday season. When you hit Beaujolais Nouveau, you know Christmas isn’t that far behind.”

Capistrano’s will celebrate the 1996 crop Friday with a multi-course dinner featuring the Beaujolais of two major winemakers--leading producer Georges Duboeuf and Henry Fessy.

Guerin said Beaujolais Nouveau, which used to be released annually Dec. 15, dates to about the turn of the century, when it was a blue-collar wine. Its popularity soared in Britain and France after World War II.

“They started to race to see which would be the first cafe in France or the first pub in London to have Beaujolais Nouveau. For the pubs, they used to put five cases in a taxi and race from Burgundy to London, crossing the channel on a ship,” Guerin said. “In France, in the cafes, it was just a crazy thing, which built up the reputation of the Beaujolais Nouveau.”

In the United States, Guerin said, new Beaujolais attracted attention in the 1960s and 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the yuppies picked up on it, Guerin said, and within the last 10 years the wine has continued to gain fans.

Restaurants in this country followed the trend.

“November is traditionally kind of a slow month for restaurants,” Guerin said. “The French restaurants in this country have jumped on it.”

Le Rendez-Vous Restaurant in Newbury Park will honor the new vintage by catering a private party this evening for the Santa Barbara-Ojai-Ventura chapter of Chaine des Rotisseurs. About 40 local members of the national food and wine society, a mix of wine enthusiasts and members of the food and beverage industry, are expected to attend.

“It’s a much-anticipated event for friends to get together,” said Ventura’s Neil Conway, an officer of the local chapter of Chaine des Rotisseurs and an account executive with Southern Wine and Spirits, a Cerritos-based wholesale distributor.

“Winemaking and life are so tangled together in France and now in California,” Conway said. “It’s a celebration of good living, of life and of the new harvest.”

Francois Zanni, owner of Le Rendez-Vous, said he will offer three brands of Beaujolais Nouveau--Georges Duboeuf, Henry Fessy and Barton and Guestier--to the wine and food group and to the general clientele.

“It’s good for teaching people about red wine,” Zanni said. “It is very easy to drink, kind of like wine with grape juice. If you lived in France and had a special occasion, you would drink a Burgundy or a Bordeaux. If you wanted to drink something every day, you would drink something like this.”

Tim Coles, owner of Conejo Wine and Provision Co. in Thousand Oaks, said local wine drinkers anticipate the release of the new wine each year, but not quite with the same passion as those in France. He doesn’t expect a line at his door this morning.

“I tend to sell wine starting this day, and then for the rest of the month, particularly for Thanksgiving,” he said. “I think it’s a good choice for Thanksgiving, in terms of matching the style of food and wine.”

Like the restaurants that promote their dinners, Coles’ will make sure that his customers know he is well stocked with Beaujolais Nouveau. Wine distributors, he said, generally send along posters as marketing aids.

Bonnet of Cafe Provencal said marketing is all part of the Beaujolais Nouveau experience.

“Part of the magic is the secret about what the wine is going to be like,” said Bonnet, a native of Chembery, France, who in 1992 teamed with Duboeuf to present a fashion show/wine tasting in honor of the Beaujolais Nouveau. “When they release the wine all on the same day everybody is anxious to try it.”

Doing her own part to add to the mystique, Bonnet said she may or may not serve the Duboeuf and Fessy Beaujolais Nouveau beginning tonight. As for the menu for her dinner Monday, that will remain a mystery too.

“That night there will be something in the air, like Christmas Eve,” Bonnet said. “Everybody will be coming for the same motive. It will be like entering Ali Baba’s cave.”

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SAVOR THE MOMENT

Here are some of the area’s Beaujolais Nouveau celebrations:

* Capistrano’s at Mandalay Beach Resort--2101 Mandalay Beach Road, Oxnard.

A multi-course gourmet dinner featuring two brands of Beaujolais Nouveau will be served Friday, with seatings from 5 to 9 p.m. $45. Reservations: 984-2500, Ext. 569.

* Rockwood Women’s Club--670 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara

Soroptimist International of Santa Barbara will present its 10th annual Beaujolais Nouveau Wine and Food Festival, featuring eight French brands and a selection of Beaujolais from Santa Ynez Valley wineries. About 20 restaurants, including the Wine Cask, Mona Lisa Cafe, Mimosa, Emilio’s Restaurant and Bar, Citronelle and El Encanto will bring food samples. $35 in advance or at the door. Information: 964-9547.

* Cafe Provencal--2310 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks

There will be a party celebrating the Beaujolais Nouveau from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday. The menu for the evening is a surprise, but the wine is not. Reservations: 496-7121.

* Chameleon Restaurant & Bar--421 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara

Bread, cheese and a big barrel of Beaujolais will be set up at the bar from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today through Sunday. Information: 965-9536.

* Fins Westlake--982 S. Westlake Blvd.

There will be a five-course gourmet dinner with a bottomless glass of Beaujolais Nouveau at 6:30 tonight. $49.95. Reservations: 494-6494.