2022 Beaujolais Nouveau sales begin

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, November 17, 2022

Bottles of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau hit shelves Thursday, with events held across Tokyo to promote the red wine made from grapes harvested in France’s Beaujolais region.

Because of the climate and weather conditions in the region this year, the latest batch of Beaujolais Nouveau “ended up with a good color and flavor,” according to a spokesperson of Suntory Holdings Ltd., which distributes the wine.

“It is sweet but refreshing. It goes well with any dish,” said a 33-year-old diner who was enjoying a glass at a restaurant.

The cost of importing Beaujolais increased this year due to a change in air routes to avoid flying over Russia, high resource prices and the weak yen. As a result, Suntory expects retail price to be 1.5 to 2 times higher than last year.