november-2010

THE BUZZ | TRAVEL NEWS
Beaujolais Rediscovered
LYON
At one minute past
midnight on 18 November,
(and not a moment before)
the wines from this year’s
Beaujolais Nouveau harvest
will be uncorked and
celebrations in bars and
restaurants will commence
around the world.
By law Beaujolais
Nouveau wines, produced
in the Beaujolais region, an
hour north of Lyon, can’t
be sold before the third
Thursday in November.
But it wasn’t until 1972
that canny local producer
Georges Duboeuf came
up with the idea of holding
a race that would take
advantage of this law and
promote his wine to the
world’s drinkers.
“It was a marketing
exercise but also a bit of
fun,” says Colin Wills of
London wine merchant
Uncorked. Wines were
dispatched to bars by
hot air balloon, marathon
runners and even
Concorde, and it was a
huge success – at its peak
20 | TRAVELLER | 15 TH BIRTHDAY ISSUE
in the late 80s more than
60 million bottles were sold
worldwide as drinkers made
increasingly wild attempts
to be the fi rst to sample
the new vintage. In fact,
some would say the stunt
became too successful.
Over the years the wine
became known more for
its gimmickry than its taste
– a problem not helped by
the fact that it’s a young
wine, traditionally drunk by
Beaujolais locals during the
autumn while they waited
for better wines to mature.
“It’s a real harvest festival
wine,” explains Wills. “It
goes well with traditional
foods from the region, such
as offal, duck and snails.
The release of the wines in
autumn was a good excuse
to party and some villages
would even pump the wine
through the local fountain.”
“Beaujolais Nouveau
is, and always has been, a
wine of the people,” agrees
Franck Duboeuf, whose
father started the whole
trend. These days the wine
still has its fans in Europe,
but is more popular in
China and Japan (where
people have been known
to bathe in it) and in the US
it’s becoming a traditional
Thanksgiving tipple.
So there won’t be any
outlandish racing this
year, but visitors to the
village of Beaujeu, in the
Beaujolais region, can see
the new wines celebrated
at the much more tasteful
Sarmentelles Festival from
17–21 November. With live
music, dance and a torch-lit
procession through town,
followed by fi reworks and
celebratory dinners, it’s a
great way to rediscover this
wine of the people.
Laura Latham
easyJet
TIMELINE 2004–2007
2004
In May we make history by checking
in an entire fl ight through the new selfcheck-in
kiosks at East Midlands airport.
We are the fi rst to take advantage of
the newly enlarged European Union by
starting fl ights to Hungary and Slovenia.
We offer Europe's most generous hand
baggage allowance by becoming the fi rst
European airline to remove the weight
restriction for hand luggage.
2005
Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg becomes a
base and Berlin Schönefeld celebrates
the arrival of our 100th aircraft.
In May we introduce a new group
bookings facility, allowing passengers to
book up to 40 seats in one booking.
We welcome onboard our 100 millionth
passenger, grandmother Linda Martin.
London Gatwick becomes our largest
base, with 16 aircraft and fl ights to
29 destinations.
2006
We start the New Year by becoming
the fi rst major low-cost airline to roll out
internet check-in for its UK passengers,
and offer a 15-minute gate arrival time for
those travelling with just hand baggage.
In March, we expand to new markets
outside the EU, including fl ights to
Marrakech (pictured), Istanbul, and Rijeka.
We introduce Speedy Boarding, giving
passengers greater choice over their
seating arrangements by offering the
opportunity to be among the fi rst to
board the aircraft.
2007
We move to our new orange
headquarters, Hangar 89 at Luton Airport.
We call on the EU to ban aircraft made
before 1990 from fl ying after 2012. Our
fl eet consists of 130 aircraft with an
average age of two-and-a-half years old.
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