by Steven Doyle
Poor weather conditions in France has more than halved the Beaujolais production this year, but that didn’t stop revelers and Francophiles last weekend from lining up in record numbers at the 2012 Beaujolais Festival that was held at the Irving Convention Center.
The Beaujolais vineyards are expected to produce just over 400,000 hecto-litres this year, against last year’s 853,000 last which was considered a good vintage. Adverse weather troubles began last February with severe frosts that damaged old vines. Hailstorms from April to August then destroyed some vineyards, and rain has slowed the development of the remaining plants.
Getting Gangnam Style
As a consolation for Beaujolais lovers, this year’s smaller crop produced higher quality wines with smaller grapes in the mix.
The festivities lasted on in through the night with tastes from a variety of restaurants including Parigi, Boulevardier, and Lavendou. Paula Lambert and Meaders Ozarow were out in full force sampling bites of cheese and bread respectively from Mozzarella Company and Empire Baking Company.
For those suffering from metamfiezomaiophobia might have stayed away for the first half of the evening when mimes were making their way around the room attempting invisible box escapes. It was clear these mimes were mute, but this did not keep at least one from texting. Meh, perhaps this is the advanced form of communication and would make Jean-Gaspard Deburau proud.
The festival is an amazing annual event that should be on every wine lover’s event roster, and is sponsored by the French-American Chamber of Commerce of Dallas and Fort Worth.
