Las Vegas Weekly

Paris vs. Paris

The Beaujolais Nouveau, unveiled Vegas-style

Lance Bass (second from left) gets ready to pull the switch.

Photo: C. Moon Reed

Fresh from Dancing With the Stars glory, celebrity host Lance Bass seemed to overwhelm the French landmarks behind him. Or maybe it was just that the Eiffel Tower had been turned off for the arrival of the 2008 Beaujolais Nouveau wine. Bass chatted to an adoring crowd while waiting for a helicopter and can-can dancers to deliver the new wine.

Photo: Courtesy of Georges Duboeuf

The 2008 Beaujolais Nouveau will be released on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 12:01 a.m.

“You don’t even have to go to France; Paris is in your backyard,” he said, referring to the casino. His chatter was interrupted by spontaneous worship and piercing girl screams: “You’re so cute! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” At the stroke of midnight—when French law says Beaujolais Nouveau is legal to consume—after speeches, photo-ops and cheers, Bass pulled the exaggerated cartoon-size switch and lit the Eiffel Tower red.

Watching the spectacle, I thought back to when I lived in France. Would this display be recognizable to my French friends? If so, would it be seen as a flashing-light mockery of all they hold dear? In my adopted town, the Beaujolais celebrations contained nary a sequin. Instead, shopkeepers donned straw hats and striped aprons, giving out free samples of wine to passersby. The ville took on a festive air that increased in volume as the townspeople played an alcoholic version of trick or treat, visiting every commerçant.

As the sound of the helicopter faded, a rollicking French drinking song ushered in more photo-ops. Over the sounds of accordions, I translated these lyrics:

If I die, I want to be buried in a wine cellar!/In a wine cellar! Oui oui oui!/In a wine cellar! Non non non!

The Francophile in me wondered if the audience got it.

“Is anybody here French?” I yelled into the crowd behind the barricade. “Why do you need to know if we’re French?” replied 18-year-old local Nicole Poremba. She and her friends were missing school and work to be at this event. Yet she seemed perplexed as to its purpose. Other bystanders responded similarly.

“Because this is a French event,” I responded. Wasn’t it obvious?

“I’m here for Lance,” she said.

Photo: C. Moon Reed

Moving along, I asked Yan Bourigault, the North American Export Director for George Duboeuf wines, his opinion of the spectacle. “Wine is about having fun,” he said. “A lot of people forget about it because they think they need a wine encyclopedia to appreciate a glass of wine.” Maybe Vegas wasn’t the opposite of France after all.

Topping off the celebrations was the Rock ’n’ Roll Wine event at Risqué. To a live acoustic soundtrack, hip locals tasted a variety of wine (including Beaujolais and RNR’s own varietals). These friendly, happy people all seemed to know each other, and were certainly achieving the event’s goal of making wine accessible. Come to think of it, this event seemed quite like something that would happen in France, only with more pizzazz.