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A ''nouveau'' ( ), or ''vin (de) primeur'', is a

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

which may be sold in the same year in which it was harvested. The most widely exported ''nouveau'' wine is

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and Amer ...

Beaujolais ''nouveau'' which is released on the third Thursday of November, often only a few weeks after the grapes were harvested. ''Nouveau'' wines are often light bodied and paler in color due to the very short (or nonexistent) maceration period followed by a similarly short fermentation. The wines will most likely not be exposed to any

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

or extended aging prior to being released to the market. ''Nouveau'' wines are characteristically fruity and may have some

residual sugar The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, wh ...

. They are at their peak drinkability within the first year. As of 2005, there were 55 AOCs in France permitted to make ''nouveau'' wines.T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 56 Dorling Kindersley 2005 ''Vins de primeur'' should not be confused with the practice of buying and selling wines ''

en primeur ''En primeur'' or "wine futures", is a method of purchasing wines early while the wine (a vintage) is still in the barrel. This offers the customer the opportunity to invest before the wine is bottled. Payment is made at an early stage, a year o ...

''. In

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, ''nouveau'' wine is called "'' Vino Novello''".

References

{{italic title French wine Wine styles

See also

References