Shhh… Don’t tell!

Tomorrow, being the third Thursday in November, is the official release date and festivities for this year’s  Beaujolais Nouveau, celebrated in every little wine store in France.  Having managed to get my hands on an advance bottle with the idea of doing an early review, I discovered something even more interesting: it turns out that drinking or selling this rather frivolous wine before that date is actually illegal, with the threat of a 150€ fine!  …So I can tell you that it’s light and fruity… and the threat of legal prosecution definitely gives the wine a bit more heft!

It’s all legal after midnight tonight, and tomorrow most wine shops will be offering samples, but the best place in Nice to try Beaujolais Nouveau is Cave Caprioglio in the Old Town.  Starting from 7pm, they pull out all the stops with live music, food, sometimes dancing, and a party that overflows far into the street…  and goes on until “on ne peut plus!”

Would you like a little illegal cheese to go with your illegal wine?   According to my favorite cheese restaurant, Le Bistro du Fromager, at one point the very possession of Reblochon cheese was proof of moral turpitude and was cause for arrest.  In the 14th century, dairy farmers paid landowners grazing fees based on the milk yield.  The landowners charged abusively high fees, so to get back at them, some farmers would not do a complete milking; once all had been accounted for they would then secretly milk the cows again.  Supplemental milking produces a liquid that is almost all fat, so the resulting cheese was easily identifiable (Reblochon actually means ‘second milking’) and had to be hidden.  Possession of Reblochon cheese was proof of stealing from your landlord and could land you in jail!

Photo courtesy of the Nice-Matin

The Festin dou Pouort (Port Festival in Nicois) has evolved from a very strange affair to become one of Nice’s best festivals for food, visuals and music.  Designed to attract people to the ‘forgotten’ Port area, the first year was almost its last: the awkward entertainment revolved around a talking crane (?) with the voice of Noelle Perna that nattered on about the boats that it lifted out of the harbor over the years…!

Chef’s Village, courtesy of the Nice-Matin

The festival has developed into my very favorite annual festival, and a big part of that is the food, from the ‘slow-food’ snack stands to the Chef’s Village, where for 5€ a portion, you can savor the culinary marvels from the city’s top chefs, or two glasses of wine from the area’s top winerys.   Warning: the Chef’s Village is as crowded as it is fantastic, with a long line to even get in, but if you pool your orders and tag-team the food stations, it’s not so bad.

If jumping into the Chef’s Village foodie frenzy is not your style, even the snack stands are amazing with ‘slow food’ affordable yet gourmet offerings including foie gras sandwiches, escargot, and more.

The rest of the festival is a fun and imaginative free-for-all, with bizarre strolling musicians, kalaidoscopic floats, free art workshops, free boat trips, laser shows, fireworks set to music (at 10:30pm) and four bandstands spread through the Port.   But the best is after the fireworks, when the music heats up and everyone starts dancing…

The free Lou Festin dou Pouort is this Saturday, September 8, and goes from 7pm to 12:30am (but line up at 6:30pm for first shot at the Chef’s Village).  The city is providing free non-stop shuttles from the Palais des Expositions, where there is lots of parking and a tram stop, and from the Tourist Office on the Prom.

Nice-Matin: Festin du Port samedi a Nice; Photos courtesy Nice Matin