For both wine connoisseurs and revelers alike, the Thursday before Thanksgiving has taken on a heightened significance in the United States over the past several years: the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau wine from the Burgundy region of France. The very young red wine is made from the gamay grape and aged less than a year before its cork is pulled, which, by law, cannot occur until the third Thursday in November. (Note: Not surprisingly, French people take this very seriously. I have seen a French friend of mine ready to come to blows upon hearing that a restaurant in New York was serving the beaujolais nouveau ahead of time. So watch out!) more ›