Fête de Beaujolais Nouveau 2012

It's that time of year again: the third Thursday of November, precisely a week before Thanksgiving, and that means it's time for the release of this year's crop of Beaujolais Nouveau, a young and fruity, easy-to-drink wine that's meant to be consumed without storage. In fact, aging won't improve the drink. It's generally acknowledged that the third-Thursday-of-November release is little more than a marketing scheme, with restaurants across the city hanging kitsch posters advertising its arrival. It was only in the 1950s that Beaujolais Nouveau began to be released in mid-November and not until the 1970s that the wine's release became a national event. Finally, in 1985, the third-Thursday-of-November date was set and the rest is delicious history.

Marketing schemes aside, as MIT pub nights also fall on third-Thursdays, the crowd was already in place and the excuse placed before us to enjoy an evening of nerdy conversation and reminiscing about MIT over a decidedly pleasant carafe of wine.