MLH celebrates official release of new Beaujolais with Alliance Francaise de Kotte

Beaujolais nouveau is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is the most popular vin de primeur, fermented for just a few weeks then officially released for sale on the third Thursday of November.

Beaujolais is the “fun” wine on Mount Lavinia Hotel’s wine drinker’s lists. Anura Dewapura states, “It’s not too heavy, it’s very fruity, and it’s very approachable even for non drinkers. It’s the only red wine that actually benefits from being served slightly chilled (this seems to accentuate the fruitiness in the wine.” Yet good Beaujolais is still complex enough to hold interest. Best of all, there is a quaint requirement by French Law that all Beaujolais grapes are picked by hand.

Mount Lavinia Hotel celebrates the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau 2010 with a night of Beaujolais Passions with French culinary extraordinaire and indeed re-creating the French ceremony in the heart of Colombo.

The frenzy the Beaujolais Nouveau’s arrival generates is almost as high as the build up for a major award show. Hence, the hotel will feature French culinary delicacies, and live music.

Dewapura avers, “Guests will not only be able to taste the Beaujolais Nouveau 2010, but also explore many other wines, sample great food, dance, have fun, and enjoy what Mount Lavinia Hotel loves to boast wine, food and ambiance.”

“18 November is the official release date for Beaujolais Nouveau however we are celebrating it on the 19 November 2010 when the Empire Ballroom will celebrate the ceremonial release courtesy Embassy of France and Alliance Francaise de Kotte,” states Dewapura.

Then from 21 to 27 November 2010 the Governor’s Restaurant with its global chefs will have French extraordinaire menu and to complement it the nouveau passions. A variety of dishes ranging from the Burgundy region will scintillate your senses Les Escargots De La Region( burgundy snails with melted butter spiced with garlic), Le Potage Du Vigneron (wine harvesters style vegetable soup), traditional specialties of Bourgogne like Le Boeuf Bourguignon(traditional burgundy beef stew), and even La Charcuterie Montaguard De Bourgogne – selection of local ham, salami and sausages from the region and much more will be yours to fancy and it indeed calls for celebration with wine and great food.

Tickets for the ceremonial release festival on 19 November are priced at Rs. 3,500 which includes food and beverage. The Governor’s menu will be individually priced…

To add to the festivities, a quartet named Lillimarche Quartet will be brought down for the event by Qatar Airways along with a dancing rock band French Connection from Sri Lanka. The band from Paris consists of:

Leslie Bourdin: Vocals/accordion/piano

Emilien Gillan: Guitar

Carel Cléril: Doublebass

Jean-Brice Godet: Clarinette

Lilimarche started with a classical training (piano and vocal) at the ENM (national school of music) of Créteil, then at the CNR of Paris (regional conservatory). In 2005 she started jazz studies (piano, vocal, musical arrangements) at the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Conservatory.

In parallel to her studies, she played four years with Vincent Malone (from Le Roi des Papas) as a keyboarder/singer/accordionist and composed music for different projects (circus, children shows, burlesque) to finally create her own project: Lilimarche.

Lilimarche sings and plays piano and accordion. Sometimes with humor and lightness, sometimes with emotion; her songs are shared with unusual lyrics and covers others with the help of a violin/cellist, a guitarist and a clarinetist.