Beaujolais

As this country's wine tastes shift away from bombast toward more balanced efforts, let's imagine we could reduce that trend to a single wine from a single place. This wouldn't be a wine made to floor you, overpower you or incite some rapturous state. It wouldn't be a "great" wine, a high-scoring wine. On the contrary, it would be a wine that symbolizes the waning years of point-score piety, a wine for which profundity is an option but not an expectation, a wine whose sole purpose is to charm.

To get up to speed on Beaujolais' many pleasures without a huge investment, consider one of the village wines offered by the larger negociant houses of the region, Georges Duboeuf, Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin and Potel Aviron. Most can be had for around $10 to $12. Look for Beaujolais-Villages on the label — that ensures that the wine inside is blended from the better villages. A cru -wine, from one of the nine sub-appellations of the region (Moulin-à-Vent, Morgon, Fleurie, Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly are the best known)

The French government had to invent a holiday for it, but now it's taken on the patina of tradition. Every year at midnight on the third Thursday of November, wine aficionados worldwide race to crack open a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau, the light, fruity red wine made in the Beaujolais region just south of Burgundy in France. Today Francophiles will want to dust off their high school French and head to Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel to join in the global toast at the Francophone Fest.

As this country's wine tastes shift away from bombast toward more balanced efforts, let's imagine we could reduce that trend to a single wine from a single place. This wouldn't be a wine made to floor you, overpower you or incite some rapturous state. It wouldn't be a "great" wine, a high-scoring wine. On the contrary, it would be a wine that symbolizes the waning years of point-score piety, a wine for which profundity is an option but not an expectation, a wine whose sole purpose is to charm.

  2009 Jean-Claude Lapalu Beaujolais Brouilly "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes" Here's another early entry from the 2009 Beaujolais vintage, a beautiful Brouilly from Jean-Claude Lapalu, a young vintner who is a proponent of natural wines. All Gamay, his 2009 old-vines Brouilly is earthy and minerally, suffused with the taste of black cherries. I even get a whiff of kirsch on the nose. It has a beautiful, fine-spun texture and soft tannins. On a warm summer night, serve it slightly chilled, which brings the wine into focus.

Now that it's starting to really feel like summer, here's a unique Beaujolais rose from a very good Beaujolais producer. The 2007 "Les Griottes" has more presence than many roses and an enticing scent of white peaches and berries. Who knew that Beaujolais could produce a rose of this quality? But then we're talking about Pierre-Marie and Martine Chermette, who work just as hard in the vineyard as the cellar and do everything to ensure the terroir is respected and the wine actually tastes like Gamay.

All the world loves Beaujolais. The only red wine to be served cool, its countless variations of mellow, fruity flavor are welcome at any time of day, whatever the occasion, from the romantically intimate to the merriest of feasts. On the other side of the spectrum stands Chablis, the most famous white wine in the world, with the most imitated, faked and misunderstood title in the lexicon of wine.

Don't recognize the Beaujolais cru called Régnié? That's probably because it's the youngest, established only in 1988, and not as well known as Morgon or Fleury. Vines grown in sandy soil produce a wine that's round and supple, with light, graceful tannins. Burgaud's Vallières comes from 50-year-old vines. The result is an elegant, refined Beaujolais that hints at Burgundy. Vivid and quick, it is Gamay at its best with tastes of cherries and sweet spices. And it's a terrific value.

  2009 Domaine des Braves "Régnié" By all accounts, 2009 is a stupendous year for Beaujolais. Not for the nouveau sort, but for the Beaujolais village and cru wines that are made to hold up for more than a season. Domaine des Braves "Regnie" from Paul Cinquin is among the first of the 2009s to show up on the shelves, and it is flat-out delicious. Tasting of lush, dark berries, it shows an exquisite balance of ripeness to acidity and has a wonderful, velvety texture.

  2009 Domaine Diochon Moulin-à-Vent 'Cuvée Vieilles Vignes' Now that all the folderol over Beaujolais Nouveau is long gone, we can start drinking the real stuff: cru Beaujolais. And this Moulin-à-Vent from Domaine Diochon's old vines is definitely worthy. What beautiful Gamay, from what growers are calling a great, great vintage. If they could make a wine like this every year, a good part of my cellar would be Beaujolais. Tasting of plum, dark cherries and earth, it's intense and tightly focused, with the tannin to age. Beaujolais is the wine for any and all occasions.

Don't recognize the Beaujolais cru called Régnié? That's probably because it's the youngest, established only in 1988, and not as well known as Morgon or Fleury. Vines grown in sandy soil produce a wine that's round and supple, with light, graceful tannins. Burgaud's Vallières comes from 50-year-old vines. The result is an elegant, refined Beaujolais that hints at Burgundy. Vivid and quick, it is Gamay at its best with tastes of cherries and sweet spices. And it's a terrific value.

In every October there comes a day when you must reacquaint yourself with your oven. The outdoor grill is left to gather cobwebs, not so much from neglect (this is Los Angeles, after all) but because being in the kitchen, near the feel and smell of warming things, suddenly seems like a very welcome idea. It's as if we all have a built-in cozy meter that kicks in as the temperature dips and the harvest moon rises. It whirs smoothly by the time the house is festooned with Halloween swag.

  2009 Domaine Diochon Moulin-à-Vent 'Cuvée Vieilles Vignes' Now that all the folderol over Beaujolais Nouveau is long gone, we can start drinking the real stuff: cru Beaujolais. And this Moulin-à-Vent from Domaine Diochon's old vines is definitely worthy. What beautiful Gamay, from what growers are calling a great, great vintage. If they could make a wine like this every year, a good part of my cellar would be Beaujolais. Tasting of plum, dark cherries and earth, it's intense and tightly focused, with the tannin to age. Beaujolais is the wine for any and all occasions.

If you're lucky enough to have a sommelier as a friend, son, sister, nephew or niece, I think it's a safe bet that your holiday libations are a step up from the rest of us. Any well-selected bottle will add a glow to holiday parties and gatherings, uplifting spirits and stimulating conversation. But with sommeliers involved, occasions can be all the more memorable. The reason? It's the simple fact that sommeliers love to share wine even more than they love wine itself, and what better occasion than the holidays?

  2009 Jean-Claude Lapalu Beaujolais Brouilly "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes" Here's another early entry from the 2009 Beaujolais vintage, a beautiful Brouilly from Jean-Claude Lapalu, a young vintner who is a proponent of natural wines. All Gamay, his 2009 old-vines Brouilly is earthy and minerally, suffused with the taste of black cherries. I even get a whiff of kirsch on the nose. It has a beautiful, fine-spun texture and soft tannins. On a warm summer night, serve it slightly chilled, which brings the wine into focus.

  2009 Domaine des Braves "Régnié" By all accounts, 2009 is a stupendous year for Beaujolais. Not for the nouveau sort, but for the Beaujolais village and cru wines that are made to hold up for more than a season. Domaine des Braves "Regnie" from Paul Cinquin is among the first of the 2009s to show up on the shelves, and it is flat-out delicious. Tasting of lush, dark berries, it shows an exquisite balance of ripeness to acidity and has a wonderful, velvety texture.

In every October there comes a day when you must reacquaint yourself with your oven. The outdoor grill is left to gather cobwebs, not so much from neglect (this is Los Angeles, after all) but because being in the kitchen, near the feel and smell of warming things, suddenly seems like a very welcome idea. It's as if we all have a built-in cozy meter that kicks in as the temperature dips and the harvest moon rises. It whirs smoothly by the time the house is festooned with Halloween swag.

If you're considering special Christmas gifts, you might drop in at the Green House in Pasadena. The little gift shop--adored by flower arrangers, home gardeners, patio enthusiasts, as well as antiques lovers--announced it was closing last May in a blaze of glory. But the announcement was premature. The Green House concept was born in 1970 when Marge Cannell and friends decided to raise funds for Childrens Hospital.

The French government had to invent a holiday for it, but now it's taken on the patina of tradition. Every year at midnight on the third Thursday of November, wine aficionados worldwide race to crack open a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau, the light, fruity red wine made in the Beaujolais region just south of Burgundy in France. Today Francophiles will want to dust off their high school French and head to Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel to join in the global toast at the Francophone Fest.

Now that it's starting to really feel like summer, here's a unique Beaujolais rose from a very good Beaujolais producer. The 2007 "Les Griottes" has more presence than many roses and an enticing scent of white peaches and berries. Who knew that Beaujolais could produce a rose of this quality? But then we're talking about Pierre-Marie and Martine Chermette, who work just as hard in the vineyard as the cellar and do everything to ensure the terroir is respected and the wine actually tastes like Gamay.