OK, so people have been asking about the Beaujolais Nouveau. Well, one person. And one vendor. But people, just the same. Anyway, I just want to say you won’t find it in our little Treehouse. None, nada, nicht, nyet, zilch. It won’t be here.

Now, one customer called me a snob because of it. And, although I might be a snob, that is not the reason. It is simply a marketing ploy, perpetuated by the evil George Debouf, to get people to buy undrinkable wine. It is a celebration in France, of the harvest, and wine is made quickly for the locals to drink while the real stuff ferments and ages properly. Which is fine for the taverns of Romaneche-Thorins, but when old George decided to try to make money off of it by selling to gullible Americans as a perfect pairing for turkey, well, that’s when things just got out of hand.

We brought some in last year, still reveling in our heady days in Willamette Valley, because Monsieur Drouhin makes one at his French vineyards, and we had visited his Oregon winery and enjoyed his Pinots. I drank it with turkey, and, OK, it didn’t suck…until I stopped eating. Then it was terrible, and I moved on to more serious wine. Plus we were stuck with about a half case of it.

It is no coincidence that Duke Philip the Bold declared Gamay unfit for human consumption, and decreed that the only red grape to be planted in Burgundy was to be Pinot Noir. A bit of an overreaction, perhaps, as some Beaujolais-Villages aren’t bad…but Nouveau? Non!

That might count as a tangent, but the point is, if you want Nouveau, you will have to go somewhere else. We, on the other hand, will have real wines that would be delicious with turkey, from Pinot Noir to Picpoul de Pinet.

And speaking of Thanksgiving, we will, or course, be closed. And we will not open on Friday until 5 p.m. That means no wine tasting this week, and we won’t be having one the following week, either, as we will be closed for a special event at 6 p.m. (although we may open for an after dinner crowd around 10:30). That will depend on whether or not we have too much fun. Stay tuned.

Anyway, Friday is the light up ceremony at the Carolina Beach Lake, so it would be a good time to get into the holiday spirit, then stop by the Bistro for a glass of wine or three and some gnosh. We have brand-spankin-new heaters on the deck, so you can still sit outside and enjoy the view from the Treehouse, despite the weather (unless it is blowing rain…haven’t beat that one yet).

Also, you can amble down to the Boardwalk and see what the Makeover Committee has in store for the holidays, which includes a cove decorated by the folks at the Treehouse Bistro. Everyone pitched in to create the decorations, and it only took about eleven bottles of cheap Cabernet to get it all done over two nights.

The parade and flotilla are right around the corner, and then the season will be in full swing.
So, get the season started right, come on down to the Treehouse Bistro and let the 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind pour you a glass and fix you a plate.

Shawn