1. - Beaujolais Nouveau is always released the third Thursday of November, regardless of the start of the harvest.

2. - The region of Beaujolais is 34 miles long from north to south and 7 to 9 miles wide. There are 3,600 grape growers in the region.

3. - All the grapes in the Beaujolais region must be picked by hand. These are the only vineyards, along with Champagne, where hand harvesting is mandatory.

4. - Gamay (Gamay noir Jus Blanc) is the only grape permitted for Beaujolais.

5. - Beaujolais Nouveau cannot be made from grapes grown in the 10 crus (great growths) of Beaujolais-only from grapes coming from the appellations of Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages.

6. - Beaujolais Nouveau owes its easy drinkability to a winemaking process called carbonic maceration, also called whole berry fermentation. This technique preserves the fresh, fruity quality of the wine, without extracting bitter tannins from the grape skins. .

7. - Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be drunk young - traditionally it should be consumed by the following May after its release. However, in excellent vintages (such as 2000) the wine can live much longer and can be enjoyed until the next harvest rolls around.

8. - Serve Beaujolais Nouveau slightly cool, at about 11-12 degrees Celsius - the wine is more refreshing and its forward fruit more apparent than if you serve it at room temperature.

9. - Approximately 1/3 of the entire crop of the Beaujolais region is sold as Beaujolais Nouveau.

10. - More than 65 million bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau are expected to be consumed in the month following its release.