Celebrating Nouveau Day: A Toast to Tradition and Our Third Gamay Vintage
Celebrating Nouveau Day: A Toast to Tradition and Our Third Gamay Vintage
November 2025
Every third Thursday in November, a joyful ritual unfolds across the wine world. At the stroke of midnight, bottles are uncorked, celebrations commence, and the cry echoes from Beaujolais to Portland: Le Nouveau est arrivé! Nouveau Day is here.
This year, as we craft our third vintage of Gamay Noir from our La Belle Promenade Vineyard, we find ourselves drawn deeper into this centuries-old tradition that celebrates transition – from harvest’s intensity to winter’s quiet, and the simple pleasure of gathering together.
The Story of Nouveau Day
The tradition traces back to the 1800s, when Beaujolais vignerons would gather after the exhausting harvest season to toast their labors with the season’s first wine—young, vibrant, and bursting with the energy of freshly-picked grapes. What began as a local custom evolved into a global phenomenon. In 1985, the French government officially designated the third Thursday of November as the release day for Beaujolais Nouveau, transforming a regional celebration into an international moment of revelry.
The timing is serendipitous. In the United States, Nouveau Day arrives just one week before Thanksgiving, making these youthful, food-friendly wines the perfect companion to our holiday tables. It’s a celebration of gratitude, of the year’s harvest, and of the simple joy of a well-made glass of wine shared among friends.
Why Gamay? Why Here?
When considering what to plant at La Belle Promenade, we think about more than just varietals—we think about the conversation between vine and soil, between place and expression. Gamay Noir found its voice in our volcanic soils.
We’re honored that this dialogue has resonated beyond our estate—VinePair recently recognized our efforts by naming us among the Best Gamays from the Willamette Valley in 2024.
The Willamette Valley sits on a similar latitude as Burgundy, France—both regions blessed with that elusive quality that allows finicky, expressive grapes to thrive. While the parallel isn’t exact (we’re at 45 degrees, Burgundy slightly north), what matters more is our shared cool-climate sensibility. The maritime influence from the Pacific, our volcanic Jory soils, the interplay of warm days and cool nights—these elements create a terroir that speaks the same language as the great vineyards of France, even as it articulates something distinctly Oregonian.
Gamay thrives in this environment. At La Belle Promenade, our Gamay vines are rooted between 700 and 850 feet in elevation, where northeastern and southwestern exposures bring balance and nuance. The volcanic soils—ranging from fractured basalt to deep Saum soils—add layers of complexity to each vintage. This is terroir speaking through the grape: mineral, floral, alive.
Crafting Nouveau: The Art of Carbonic Maceration
The magic of Nouveau wines lies in their method. We employ partial carbonic maceration—a technique where whole grape clusters ferment in a sealed, carbon dioxide-rich environment. This process is a study in chemistry and intuition.
Inside each intact berry, intracellular fermentation begins without the intervention of yeast, yes, you read that right: Fermentation begins inside the berry. As the cells inside each individual grape morph, sugars and malic acid begin breaking down while synthesizing a range of aromatic compounds. It’s this esterification—the creation of fruity esters during carbonic fermentation—that gives Nouveau wines their distinctive ethereal quality. Think of those bright notes of red berries, that subtle whisper of bubble gum or kirsch, the lifted floral aromatics that seem to dance above the glass. These are the fingerprints of carbonic maceration, the signature of a wine made to be enjoyed in its exuberant youth.
Our approach is both spirited and intentional. We use 100% whole clusters, native yeast fermentation, and neutral oak to let the fruit and terroir shine through. The wine is meant to be drunk young—ideally within two years—when it’s at its most vivacious.
Flâneur Gamay Noir: A Love Letter from the Chehalem Mountains to Beaujolais
2025 marks our third Gamay vintage, and with each release, we’ve grown more confident in our understanding of how this noble grape expresses itself in our corner of the Willamette Valley.
Bright red fruit—juicy cherries and raspberries—takes center stage, complemented by earthy, mineral notes that ground the wine’s exuberance. The whole cluster fermentation and partial carbonic maceration create a playful balance of fruit and subtle tannins. It’s both spirited and profound, juicy and high-toned, with layers of vibrant red fruit punctuated by that distinctive florality that makes Gamay so compelling.
This is an easy yet sophisticated drinking wine. Light on its feet, refreshing when slightly chilled, it captures that delightful tension between elegance and approachability. It’s a wine that invites you to slow down, to wander through flavor the way a flâneur wanders through Life—with curiosity, with presence, with joy.
Nouveau Day Meets Thanksgiving: Perfect Pairings
One of the great pleasures of Nouveau wines is their versatility at the table, particularly the Thanksgiving table. The bright acidity, red fruit profile, and subtle earthy notes make Gamay a natural companion to the season’s flavors.
Turkey: Whether white meat or dark, Gamay’s fruit-forward character and gentle tannins complement both. The wine’s acidity cuts through rich gravies while its red berry notes echo the cranberry sauce.
Stuffing & Dressing: The herbal, earthy qualities in our Gamay mirror the sage, thyme, and herbs that season traditional stuffing. The wine’s structure stands up to sausage-based dressings while maintaining enough delicacy for lighter preparations.
Roasted Root Vegetables: The earthy notes in the wine find kinship with roasted carrots, parsnips, and squash. The wine’s acidity balances any sweetness in glazed or caramelized preparations.
Cranberry Dishes: Those bright cherry and raspberry notes in the wine create a beautiful harmony with cranberry sauce, whether jellied or freshly made with orange zest.
Green Bean Casserole: The wine’s lightness and acidity cut through the creaminess while its fruit notes complement the vegetables.
Serve it slightly chilled—around 55-60°F—to accentuate its refreshing qualities and make it even more food-friendly.
Celebrating with Arden
This Nouveau Day, we’re thrilled to collaborate with Arden in Portland, where the Flâneur team will be sharing our 2024 vintage alongside barrel samples of our 2025 Gamay, offering a rare chance to taste the evolution, to see how this grape continues to reveal itself through our terroir, and to celebrate the harvest with fellow wine lovers. To join us you can find tickets HERE.
There’s something profound about tasting a wine that was just picked weeks ago—it’s alive in a way that aged wines, for all their complexity, cannot replicate. Nouveau wines capture a moment in time, a snapshot of the vintage, the raw expression of place before time softens and transforms it.
The Spirit of Flâneur
As we gather to celebrate Nouveau Day, we’re reminded of why we chose our name. The flâneur—that leisurely wanderer of 19th century Paris—understood that the best discoveries come when we slow down, when we observe with curiosity rather than rushing toward a destination.
That same spirit animates our winemaking. We dry-farm organically. We allow native yeasts to guide fermentation. We craft wines that reflect place and vintage rather than impose a predetermined style. And we make wines like our Gamay Noir—wines that invite exploration, that reward attention, but that also simply delight when you’re looking for an easy, sophisticated glass to share.
This Nouveau Day, whether you’re joining us at Arden or opening a bottle at your own table, we invite you to wander through the flavors of our third Gamay vintage. Taste the volcanic soils of the Chehalem Mountains, the cool Pacific influence, the careful work of hands that tend these vines throughout the year.
Raise a glass to tradition, to terroir, to the joy of harvest. Le Nouveau est arrivé.
Only 30 cases of our 2024 La Belle Promenade Gamay Noir are left. Join us at Arden in Portland for Nouveau Day celebrations, or visit our Carlton Grain Elevator tasting room to experience our portfolio of estate wines.