Celebrating Fall with a Venison Stir Fry and a Beaujolais-Villages #Winophiles

Fall is here, and so is the Beaujolais wine celebration.  Beaujolais is a French Province near Lyon, known for its wine production.  After the harvest, the winemakers would enjoy their wines, made from Gamay grapes, young and unaged.  

Because of government restrictions, they were not allowed to market and sell the wines until December.  In 1951, winemakers petitioned to sell the wines in November, after harvest.  These wines became known as Beaujolais-Nouveau, and in 1985, the third Thursday of November was designated as the worldwide release date of this young wine.  

So, I am not sharing Beaujolais-Nouveau with you this year because it isn't available yet, but it is a lovely, light red that pairs well with turkey and often finds its way onto my Thanksgiving table.  Luckily, Beaujolais Villages is also an amazing wine, albeit heavier than the Nouveau, making it a perfect pairing for the Celery Steak I was serving, replacing the beef with venison and adding some color with red and yellow bell peppers instead of green.  

I bought this bottle by Jean Claude Debeaune at Total Wine for less than $20.  It is medium-bodied and fruit-forward.  It paired very nicely with the Asian flavors of the stir-fry.  

Camilla of Culinary Cam is hosting our French Winophiles group today, and knowing that it was too early for us to get our hands on the Nouveau, she opened the event to include all the wines of Beaujolais.  Let's take a look at what wines the others found to share with us today.......

• A Wine from the Smallest Grand Cru in Beaujolais Plus a French Stew with Italian Beans by Culinary Cam
• Celebrating Fall with a Venison Stir Fry and a Beaujolais-Villages by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fall Dinner with a Sandrine Henriot Beaujolais Cru by Food Wine Click!
• Fleurie in the Fall by Crushed Grape Chronicles
• Our Favorite House Wine by Our Good Life