Beaujolais nouveau is a red wine made from Gamay grapes produced in the Beaujolais region of France. It is the most popular vin de primeur, fermented for just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November. This "Beaujolais Nouveau Day" sees heavy marketing, with races to get the first bottles to different markets around the globe.

Beaujolais Nouveau is a purple-pink wine reflecting its youth, bottled only 6-8 weeks after harvest. The method of production means that there is very little tannin, and the wine can be dominated by such fruity ester flavours as banana, fig and pear drop. The wine is recommended to be slightly chilled to 13°C (55°F).
Beaujolais Nouveau is intended for immediate drinking and not for keeping; standard Beaujolais AOC wines are released the following year. The wines show definite variation between vintages, and as such are eagerly awaited as a first indicator of the quality of the year's regional wine harvest.
For a period around the late 90s some wine critics criticized Beaujolais Nouveau as simple or immature. This misses the point of drinking Beaujolais Nouveau, which is to enjoy the wine as early as possible while it is still fresh and fruity, or indeed, simple and immature.

Beaujolais Nouveau is made from the Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc grape, better known simply as Gamay. The grapes must come from the Beaujolais AOC, with those of the ten "cru" appellations excluded. By law, all grapes in the region must be harvested by hand, reflecting the practice of making with wine using carbonic maceration, whole berry fermentation which emphasizes fruit flavors without extracting bitter tannins from the grape skins. The wine is then pasteurized to prevent secondary malolactic fermentation and is ready to drink just 6–8 weeks after the harvest.