Beaujolais Nouveau 2011 is (almost) here! It will be available for purchase at your favorite ABC store  Thursday, November 17 (that's tomorrow).

Three different wines are available this year: Duboeuf, Bouchard and a new wine called Jean Saint Honoré from the producers at Cave de Bully. This wine, as well as the Beaujolais Villages under the same name, are the fruit of the combined effort of a handful of vignerons from the area who decided to associate in order to create higher than  average quality Beaujolais wines from selected parcels under their ownership. 

I had the opportunity to taste the Jean St. Honoré Beaujolais Nouveau 2011 and was very pleased with the wine’s elegant aromas and flavors of strawberries, blackberries and violet floral notes. This wine should be served slightly chilled as aperitif or to complement a variety of dishes like grilled meats, pastas and roasted pork and poultry. It is the perfect complement to the holiday turkey meal. Shop early, as of this Thursday, as quantities are limited. Do not miss on a great holiday wine!

Here is a traditional Burgundian recipe for cheese puffs, called gougères. They are usually served as an appetizer with Burgundy white wines or lighter style reds like Beaujolais.

  This recipe makes about two dozen  gougères

• 4 oz. butter


• ½ tsp. salt


• 4 oz. white flour


• 4 eggs


• 4 oz. Compté cheese or Gruyère cheese, grated

 Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Combine the butter, salt, and 8 fl oz. of water in a saucepan and bring to boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour, stirring vigorously until smooth. Let the mixture cool down slightly before incorporating the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition until the mixture is thick and smooth. Add the grated cheese and mix well.

Place the mixture, one tablespoon at a time, on a well-greased baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400˚F, then lower the oven temperature to 350˚F and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until golden. Let the gougères cool down before serving. They should be crisp on the outside and moist on the inside.

 Atanas Nechkov, Wine Supervisor Central Florida