On the third Thursday of every November, the first wine of the new vintage is released from the Beaujolais region of France. Made from Gamay grapes picked only weeks earlier, Beaujolais Nouveau is young, bright and fruity. It’s made for drinking now, not for keeping.

The tradition began with the region’s growers, who drank the new wine to mark the end of harvest. In 1985 the French authorities fixed the release date to the third Thursday of November, and “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!” became a toast heard far beyond France. In Britain it gave rise to the Beaujolais Run of the 1970s, when teams raced each other to get the first bottles back to London.

We’ll be pouring the new season’s Beaujolais Nouveau all day on Thursday 19 November, from opening until last orders. Come in for a glass at lunch, or share a bottle after work.

A young red needs something to go with it, so we’re running a French special all week: beef bourguignon, slow-braised in red wine and served with buttery mash.

Thursday 19th November
All day
Free entry