A wine trail is coming to the Northern Quarter for one day only, to celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau Day on Thursday 20 November.
The third Thursday of November marks one of the most joyful days in the wine calendar – the global celebration of Beaujolais Nouveau Day. It’s the first moment wine lovers can sip and savour the brand-new vintage, straight from the vineyards of France.
Loved for its floral, fruity, and easy-drinking character, Beaujolais Nouveau has long been a favourite across the world. While Manchester has seen plenty of one-off Beaujolais celebrations, this year the team at Georges Duboeuf and Berkmann Wine Cellars, in partnership with Liars Group, are taking things up a notch – launching the city’s very first Beaujolais Trail.
The concept is inspired by the legendary Beaujolais Run – an idea hatched by Joseph Berkmann of Berkmann Wine Cellars back in the 1970s. Daring wine merchants would race from London to France to collect the first bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau and bring them back to the UK, fast.
Leading the charge was Georges Duboeuf, the King of Beaujolais, whose flair and passion transformed a regional custom into an international sensation. What began as a mad dash for wine became a celebration of speed, style, and the sheer joy of the new vintage – shared between France and Britain every November.
On the Beaujolais Trail, you’ll enjoy a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau in a variety of the Northern Quarter’s favourite spots: TNQ, The Bay Horse and The Social (previously The Smithfield Social). At each of these spots you will enjoy a glass, and a canapé especially devised for the trail, and in-keeping with the vibe of each establishment.
At classic bistro TNQ, you can enjoy a beef or tomato tartare tartlet. Down the road in The Bay Horse – which has an old-school pub feel – you can enjoy a perfectly golden-yolked Manchester Egg with black pudding and panko breadcrumbs. Next, on Thomas Street you can enjoy smoky duck or cheese skewers at buzzy and laid-back The Social.
Finally the trail wraps up at sultry cocktail bar Science & Industry, where a Beaujolais-inspired take on a New York Sour is on the menu: Bourbon is swapped for Cognac, and it’s topped with a float of Georges Duboeuf’s finest.
Your ticket gets you all three glasses of wine, canapés and final cocktail. Simply mark off the spots on your Beaujolais Trail coaster as you go around. We couldn’t think of a more fitting way to mark the third Thursday in November.
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