2010 Season's Beaujolais Nouveau to Arrive at Sofitel Minneapolis

Rare, Much- Anticipated Wine will be Available Third Thursday in November. End Quote

Houston, TX (1888PressRelease) October 21, 2010 - Sofitel Minneapolis announces the arrival of this season's shipment of Beaujolais Nouveau on Thursday, November 18, 2010. At 1:30 p.m. that day, an "Arrival Toast Ceremony" will be held to officially welcome this season's vintage. A quick-fermenting wine, Beaujolais Nouveau is released for distribution only once a year - to much fanfare around the world - on the third Thursday in November. Sofitel Minneapolis is one of the region's select outlets to receive this rare French wine, and probably the only one to celebrate the arrival of each season's shipment with a unique celebratory and ceremonial atmosphere. Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!

The staff at Sofitel Minneapolis will arrange a creative visual display to feature the newly arrived wine. During the arrival ceremony, guests and other attendees will be offered free samples of the 2010 Beaujolais Nouveau along with accompanying samples of cheese and other fare.

"Each year, one of the highlights of life at our hotel is the long-awaited release of the new Beaujolais vintage," said Olivier Azzopardi, Outlets Manager for Sofitel Minneapolis. "It is a world-wide event for wine enthusiasts and something truly unique we offer the Twin Cities region. Thousands of people in many countries will be enjoying Beaujolais Nouveau just like we will here at Sofitel Minneapolis."

Beaujolais Nouveau, produced in the Beaujolais region of France, is a lightweight purple-pink wine made from Gamay grape and it produces red fruit flavors, such as cherry, strawberry and raspberry. It is best served chilled, and needs to be consumed within a few months of its production.

Beaujolais was traditionally made to celebrate the end of the harvest, but until after WWII it was only for local consumption. When the Beaujolais Appelation D'Origine Controlee (AOC) was established in 1937, AOC rules declared that Beaujolais wine could only be officially sold after December 15 in the year of harvest. These rules were relaxed in 1951, and the Union Interprofessionnelle des Vins du Beaujolais (UIVB) formally set November 15 as the release date for what would be known as Beaujolais Nouveau. Now, French law states that the wine cannot be sold until the third Thursday in November, also known as "Beaujolais Day."

For food and wine enthusiasts, the grand arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau is an exciting event each year. The wine is ready for consumption about six weeks after the harvest and the race to carry the first bottles of the new vintage is a national event. Since Beaujolais Day falls a week before Thanksgiving, many Americans drink the wine as part of their holiday feast.

To find out more about Sofitel Minneapolis' Beaujolais Nouveau celebration, please call 952-835-1900 or visit www.sofitelmplsdining.com.

Sofitel Hotels are in major destinations across North America: Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Montreal, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Miami and Washington, D.C.

For more information on Sofitel, please visit www.sofitel.com.

Sofitel, World Class Hotels & French Elegance

Sofitel is the only French luxury hotel brand with a presence on five continents with 150 addresses, in more than 50 countries. Sofitel offers contemporary hotels and resorts adapted to today's more demanding and more versatile consumers who expect and appreciate beauty, quality and excellence. Whether situated in the heart of a major city like Paris, New York or Bangkok, or nestled away in a country landscape in French Polynesia or Brazil, each Sofitel property offers a genuine experience of the French art de vivre.

Discover Sofitel on www.sofitel.com

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