Beaujolais Nouveau 2026 is released at midnight on Thursday 19 November. The best place on earth to be at that moment is Beaujeu, a medieval village 56 kilometres north of Lyon, where the annual Sarmentelles festival lights torch processions, fanfares and a fireworks display for 20,000 visitors. Five days of tastings, gourmet dinners and cru Beaujolais tours follow.
At 23:00 on Wednesday 18 November 2026, a procession of torch-bearers winds through the narrow streets of a medieval village in the Rhône. The flames are made from sarments — dried vine canes — and when they reach the main square, a crowd of tens of thousands watches a fir-branch shelter (the cadole) catch fire as the first fût of Beaujolais Nouveau is ceremonially opened. One hour later, at 00:01 on Thursday 19 November, the wine is officially free for the world.
This is Beaujeu, former feudal capital of the Beaujolais province, population 1,500, altitude 260 metres — and, for one week every November, the focal point of a wine tradition that reaches every bar in Tokyo, every restaurant in London and every bouchon in Lyon. This guide covers the full programme of the 2026 Sarmentelles festival, the day-trip options from Lyon and the ten crus you should be tasting while you’re in the region.
The Sarmentelles 2026: programme and tickets
Les Sarmentelles (organised since 1989 by the Association Les Sarmentelles de Beaujeu, supported by 300 volunteers) runs from Wednesday 18 to Sunday 22 November 2026. The Wednesday night is the emotional centre of the whole week.
Wednesday 18 November — the unlocking night
The afternoon opens with a children’s ceremony at 16:45 on the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, followed by the tasting circuit at 17:00: twelve Beaujolais appellations including white and rosé expressions, a souvenir glass and a live concert, all for €15. For those who want the full theatrical version, three evening banquets run in parallel: the Soirée Prestige at €85-147 per person (dinner, show and dancing ball), the Soirée Gourmande at €52 and the Soirée Festive at €47. The intronisation by the Compagnons du Beaujolais fraternity — an induction ceremony for local figures and honoured guests — begins at 18:00 (€200 including dinner).
At 23:00, everything converges on the square. The torch procession arrives; the Beaujolais Nouveau is pierced; fireworks launch from the Place des Sires (a new position from 2026); a brass band plays until dawn. This moment is free if you hold the €15 tasting pass or any evening ticket.
Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 November
The four following days unfold at a more measured pace: a producers’ market and guided vineyard visits on Thursday (10:00-17:00), a “Midi Beaujo’” lunch at €28, a planche charcuterie evening at €25. Friday brings a bistronomic lunch with four commented Nouveaux at €38 and a Johnny Hallyday tribute concert at €42. Saturday offers the “Génération Hits 80s” evening; Sunday closes with the family Sarmentelles (spectacle + lunch from €20). Throughout the weekend, a wine salon (Friday to Sunday), a nature salon (Saturday-Sunday) and a craft market (Sunday) spread across the village.
November is the most sought-after month for accommodation around Beaujeu. Gîtes and chambres d’hôtes within 20 km fill by August for Sarmentelles week. Château de Pizay (Morgon, 4 stars) and farmhouses in the Brouilly appellation are worth reserving in June or July. Lyon is a viable base for day-trips in the days around the festival, with its own Beaujolais Nouveau events running 18-19 November at the Place des Terreaux.
From Lyon to Beaujeu: logistics
Lyon is the natural hub for this trip — 56.5 km from Beaujeu, 47 minutes by car on the A6 and the D43. The city also hosts its own November wine events and has several hundred restaurant seats dedicated to the Nouveau.
Getting to Beaujeu by public transport
The train-and-bus combination is straightforward and costs around €10-18 return. From Lyon Part-Dieu, take a TER regional train to Belleville-sur-Saône (about 35 minutes, from €6-8), then connect with Maisavia Bus 235 to Beaujeu (23 minutes, €3). The total journey is approximately two hours with connection time. Bus 235 runs 52 services per week; check timetables at the Maisavia website before you travel.
Important: driving on festival night
On the Wednesday evening of the Sarmentelles, Beaujeu closes its town centre to private vehicles from 16:00. Free shuttle buses run from peripheral car parks (indicated by signage) from 16:00 until 03:00. If you are driving from Lyon, park before 15:30 — and plan to return on the shuttle or by taxi. Driving after tasting twelve appellations is not an option.
Lyon’s own Beaujolais Nouveau scene
The Beaujol’en Scène festival (18-19 November 2026, Place des Terreaux, Lyon 1er, organised by the Jeunes Agriculteurs du Rhône) offers a spectacular arrival of the wines by the Saône, tasting stands, DJ sets and the midnight opening — around €16 (Wednesday) or €20 (Thursday, bottle included). Access: Metro Line A, Hôtel de Ville stop.
The Lyonnais bouchons — traditional restaurants, around forty of them bearing the official “Les Bouchons Lyonnais” label since 2012 — have served Gamay in the 46 cl pot since well before Beaujolais Nouveau went international. On 19 November, some open as early as 07:00 for the mâchon (the canuts’ traditional morning meal: charcuterie, oeufs pochés and Beaujolais). The Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, Lyon’s covered gastronomic market, is another destination: every stall will have its own version of the Nouveau on 19 November.
Beaujolais Wine Tour from Lyon — Half Day
The most popular Beaujolais day-trip format from Lyon: a four-hour guided wine tour of the southern Beaujolais (“Pays des Pierres Dorées”), including the medieval village of Oingt and a tasting at a family winery. Small group, English-speaking guide, meeting point at Place Bellecour — 110 reviews averaging 4.9/5. The right format for a first encounter with the region.
Full Day Private Beaujolais Tour by Vintage Land Rover
The most distinctive experience in the Beaujolais catalogue: a full day in a vintage Land Rover covering back roads, medieval private châteaux, local honey and cheese producers and multiple cru tastings. Private tour, 4.99/5 across 87 bookings, meeting in Belleville-en-Beaujolais (courtesy train tickets from Lyon provided on request). For those who want the region, not just the wine.
The ten Beaujolais crus: a taster’s map
The Beaujolais Nouveau gets most of the attention in November, but the region’s real depth lies in its ten crus — appellation wines made from Gamay on granite soils in the northern part of the vignoble, with ageing potential measured in years rather than months.
All ten crus come from the same grape: Gamay noir à jus blanc, which covers 97% of Beaujolais plantings. What makes them different is geology. Moving from south to north:
Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly anchor the southern end of the crus. Brouilly (1,180 ha, the largest cru) produces a fruity, accessible style best drunk young; Côte de Brouilly, on the blue diorite slopes of Mont Brouilly, offers more concentration and structure. Both are excellent entry points.
Régnié and Morgon occupy the heart of the crus belt. Régnié is juicy and supple, ideal for the bouchon table. Morgon — and especially the Côte du Py parcel, a promontory of ancient volcanic diorite — produces the region’s most structured wines: dense, mineral, capable of ageing ten years or more. The Gang of Four (Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard, Jean-Paul Thévenet, Guy Breton) built the natural wine movement here.
Chiroubles, at 410 metres the highest of the ten crus, delivers some of the most perfumed and tense wines in Beaujolais. On a clear November day, the terrace offers a panoramic view stretching to the Alps.
Fleurie is the most immediately seductive: 790 ha of pink granite producing a wine that is floral, supple and classically “Beaujolais” in character. The Chapelle de la Madone above the vineyards is worth the climb.
Moulin-à-Vent is the oldest and most celebrated cru — known as the King of Beaujolais since the 18th century. A geological anomaly (a seam of manganese in the soil influences phenolic synthesis) gives the wine its distinctive grip and longevity. Top bottles from this appellation aged fifteen years can hold their own against good Côte de Nuits Burgundy.
Chénas, Juliénas and Saint-Amour complete the northern triangle, each with a distinct personality: Chénas brooding with dark fruit, Juliénas firm and tannic, Saint-Amour light and airy on its rose granite and blue diorite soils.
- Morgon Côte du Py — for structured wines with genuine ageing potential
- Moulin-à-Vent — for the King of Beaujolais, capable of 10-15 years
- Fleurie — for elegance, florals and classic Gamay charm
- Chiroubles — for altitude, tension and panoramic views
- Brouilly — for the most accessible, food-friendly entry point
- Beaujolais Nouveau 2026 — fruit, festivity and the spirit of the season
Beaujolais Crus Wine Tour from Lyon — Full Day
A seven-hour guided tour dedicated specifically to the northern crus, including visits to Château du Moulin-à-Vent, the Maison du Cru Fleurie and a sit-down lunch. Small group, meeting at Place Bellecour, 4.93/5 across 60 bookings. The right choice if you want to move beyond the Nouveau and explore what Beaujolais really produces.
Beaujolais & Pérouges Medieval Town Small-Group Tour from Lyon
A full day that pairs Beaujolais wine at a family winery with a visit to Oingt and Pérouges — two of France’s most beautiful villages. Oingt’s golden limestone perched above the Azergues valley is one of the Beaujolais region’s most photographed views. 4.94/5 across 54 bookings, departing from Lyon.
Tasting Beaujolais Nouveau: what to eat and how to serve it
Beaujolais Nouveau is made by carbonic maceration: whole, uncrushed bunches are placed in a CO₂-saturated vat where fermentation takes place inside each individual grape berry. The result after four to five days is a wine with almost no tannins, vivid red fruit aromas (cherry, strawberry, raspberry), a fresh mineral edge and alcohol typically around 12-12.5% ABV. It should be consumed within six months of release; it is not a wine that improves with age.
The 2026 vintage follows an unusual growing year but looks set to deliver a clean, well-balanced Nouveau. Production was at 120,000 hl from a 32 hl/ha yield, down from recent highs, which typically means concentration and quality are up.
How to serve it: chilled, at 10-12°C. Twenty minutes in the refrigerator before opening is sufficient. Serve in a standard Burgundy-shaped glass; no need for a large Bordeaux bowl.
What to eat with it: Beaujolais Nouveau’s near-zero tannic structure makes it one of the most food-flexible reds available. The classic Lyonnais table — salade lyonnaise (frisée, lardons, poached egg), rosette saucisson, jésus de Lyon, grattons, quenelles de brochet — was designed around it. Beyond charcuterie, it pairs well with fresh goat’s cheese, a young Comté, lightly roasted chicken, terrine, and — unexpectedly — oysters. The wine’s brightness and acidity cut through brine and fat alike.
Where to find the good bottles: skip the supermarket. At €10-18 from an independent wine merchant or direct from a domaine, the Beaujolais Nouveau is transformed. Names to seek out: Marcel Lapierre (Morgon), Jean Foillard (Morgon), Jean-Paul Brun / Terres Dorées (Beaujolais Villages), Georges Descombes (Morgon), Domaine de la Madone (Fleurie). These are the producers who treat the Nouveau as seriously as their crus, with minimal intervention and no added sulphites.
Lyon Wine Tasting: Small Groups with a Professional Sommelier
If you want to understand Beaujolais — Nouveau and crus — before heading into the vineyards, this two-hour tasting session in central Lyon with a professional sommelier covers five wines across Beaujolais, Burgundy and the Northern Rhône. No driving, no logistics: the most educational format in Lyon for 228 reviews averaging 4.94/5.
Beaujolais Nouveau in its global context
The wine’s commercial history is one of the most dramatic in the modern wine trade. Launched internationally in the 1970s by négociant Georges Duboeuf, it peaked at around 55 million bottles in the late 1980s — the “Beaujolais Mania” era, when light aircraft and road races brought the first bottles to London and Tokyo. Japan alone was importing 12 million bottles a year at its peak in 2004.
By 2024, global production of Beaujolais Nouveau stood at 14.3 million bottles, down from 16.5 million in 2022. Kirin Holdings ended Japanese distribution in 2025. The reasons are structural: the industrial mass-market Nouveau of the 1990s sacrificed quality for volume and built a reputation for headache-inducing plonk that it has spent two decades trying to shake.
The counter-narrative, however, is compelling. The natural wine movement that transformed international wine culture over the past fifteen years found one of its most eloquent expressions in the Beaujolais — specifically in the Morgon of Marcel Lapierre, who pioneered low-intervention winemaking in the region from the 1980s. London sommeliers and New York wine bars that dismissed Beaujolais a decade ago now champion Gamay as the ideal natural wine grape: thin-skinned, low in tannins, amenable to minimal intervention. The Nouveau, in its best versions, is exactly what they’re looking for.
The region is betting on this premium segment while the mass market contracts. The 2025 vintage was classified “very acceptable” to “excellent” by 74% of evaluators — the best collective quality reading since 2022 — and the Inter Beaujolais is increasingly positioning the Nouveau as a first encounter with a wine region that has ten serious crus waiting for those who stay longer.
If the appeal of a pair of great food festivals in Europe catches your attention, the experience of Alba’s White Truffle Fair — running October to December in Piedmont — makes for a natural autumn pairing, arriving in the truffle season before heading north for the Beaujolais in November.
Golden Stones Beaujolais Wine Tour with Tastings from Lyon
A four-hour afternoon tour of southern Beaujolais, the area known as the Pays des Pierres Dorées for its golden limestone architecture. Includes the hilltop village of Oingt and a wine tasting at a local estate. 4.71/5 across 167 bookings — the highest review count among Beaujolais tours from Lyon, with a strong track record for first-time visitors.
Practical information
Getting a SIM or eSIM for France: if you’re arriving from outside the EU, an Airalo eSIM — installed before departure — covers France and the rest of Europe without roaming charges. Plans from around €5 for seven days.
When to book Sarmentelles tickets: the tasting circuit (€15) and the evening banquet seats sell out well in advance, particularly for the Soirée Prestige. Check sarmentelles.fr from September. The free midnight ceremony on the main square requires no ticket but benefits from arriving early.
What to bring on festival night: comfortable walking shoes, a warm jacket (Beaujeu in November reaches 4-8°C at night), a reusable bag for any wine purchased directly from producers, and cash for smaller stalls. The official tasting glass is included in the €15 circuit fee.
Getting back to Lyon after the midnight ceremony: shuttle buses run to peripheral car parks until 03:00. Taxis are bookable via standard apps (Uber operates in Lyon and the surrounding area; book ahead for 01:00-02:00 demand peaks). For late-night travel to Lyon, the first TER from Belleville leaves around 06:00.
Practical info
FAQ
Why does Beaujolais Nouveau come out at midnight?
A French government decree issued on 29 October 1985 fixed the release date as the third Thursday of November at 00:01. Before that, a chaotic race of lorries and light aircraft tried to rush the first bottles to Paris each year. The fixed date and time ended the competition and gave the release its ceremonial character.
Can I reach Beaujeu from Lyon without a car?
Yes. Take a TER regional train from Lyon Part-Dieu to Belleville-sur-Saône (about 35 minutes, from €6-8), then connect with the Maisavia Bus 235 to Beaujeu (23 minutes, €3). Total journey roughly two hours. On the Wednesday night of the Sarmentelles, Beaujeu closes its centre to traffic from 16:00 — free shuttle buses run from peripheral car parks until 03:00, so even drivers should park early and take the shuttle.
Is Beaujolais Nouveau actually a good wine?
The industrial versions sold at €4-6 in supermarkets earned the bad reputation. At €10-18 from a small producer or a good wine shop, Beaujolais Nouveau is a genuinely delicious, light, fruit-forward red for drinking in the months after the harvest. The 2026 vintage looks well-balanced at around 12.5% ABV with cherry, raspberry and a touch of mineral freshness. Producers to look for include Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard, Jean-Paul Brun (Terres Dorées) and Georges Descombes.
What is the Sarmentelles festival and how much does it cost?
Les Sarmentelles is Beaujeu's annual five-day Beaujolais Nouveau festival, held since 1989 and organised by the Association Les Sarmentelles de Beaujeu. The centrepiece is the Wednesday night torch procession and the tapping of the first barrel at 23:00 — included in the €15 tasting pass (12 appellations, glass included). Evening gala dinners with spectacle and dancing range from €47 (festive) to €147 (prestige). Full programme and bookings at sarmentelles.fr.
What are the best Beaujolais crus to taste on a visit to the region?
For richness and ageing potential, Morgon (especially the Côte du Py parcel) and Moulin-à-Vent stand out — the latter can hold for 8-15 years and is sometimes called the King of Beaujolais. For elegance and floral character, Fleurie and Chiroubles (the highest-altitude cru, with occasional views to the Alps) are the most seductive. If you want an accessible entry point, Brouilly's fruity style suits first-time visitors well.
How much should I budget for a Sarmentelles weekend from Lyon?
On a careful budget — public transport (about €18 return), two nights in a gîte (€100-200) and the standard tasting pass plus meals — expect to spend €235-445 per person. For the full experience — private transfer, a room in a vineyard château, the prestige gala dinner — the same weekend runs €870-1,100 per person. Both versions are worth it for different reasons.
Sources
- Les Sarmentelles de Beaujeu — official website — Association Les Sarmentelles de Beaujeu
- Les Sarmentelles 2026 programme — sarmentelles.fr/nos-evenements — Association Les Sarmentelles de Beaujeu
- Beaujolais Nouveau 2026 — date officielle — iCalendrier.fr
- The 10 Crus of Beaujolais — Wine Scholar Guild — Wine Scholar Guild
- Beaujolais Nouveau 2025: Quality Surpasses Demand — Wine Intelligence — Wine Intelligence
- Our 12 appellations — Beaujolais.com — Inter Beaujolais
- Beaujolais nouveau — Wikipedia EN — Wikipedia
- Beaujolais Tourisme — Les Sarmentelles de Beaujeu — Beaujolais Tourisme
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