XVIII sur Vins

On my way out of France I wanted to check out the Beaujolais Nouveau and settled on a little town called Belleville. It's only 25 minutes north of Lyon and one of the larger towns in Beaujolais, so I figured it would have the most action on the evening of the Nouveau. For those of you unfamiliar with the Beaujolais Nouveau, it's a celebration of the newest vintage of Beaujolais wines made from the Gamay grape. The winemakers have a few short weeks to get these wines made before their release and it's an incredible feat.

I was referred to XVIII sur Vins from the town info center as the "place" where I could find the largest selection of Nouveau wines and boy were they right. I was greeted by one of the local winemakers by the name of JB and he was super friendly and the only english speaking Frenchman in the joint. He knew the owner well and took me on a wild ride of the best Beaujolais Nouveau I've ever tasted. Nothing like the crap we get in the United States, these wines are made with pride and are all natural...simply amazing.

Do yourself a favor and make a stop here, ask for JB and let the locals take you on a wild ride of their local wines.