(I’m sorry I just couldn’t help myself.) So word on the street is that Joseph Drouhin, one of France’s largest negociants of wine, is recalling all of their 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau. Reason: particulate that causes some bottles to spoil. Some, not all. Why? Grape solids not filtered out of this wine could cause a second fermentation and/or spoilage, cork popping out, etc.On the one hand, it’s pretty bold of Drouhin to recall every bottle in the name of quality control. That’s a lot of red, not to mention green. I don’t know many Seattle wine retailers who sell all their Beaujolais Nouveau before Thanksgiving; so the market could always use less. But Drouhin’s Beaujolais Nouveau is usually one of the only ones worth drinking, probably because they have so much fruit from which to choose. Geez, the DuBoeuf people must be psyched right now.On the other hand, lots of bars and restaurants spend a pretty penny to promote Beaujolais Nouveau release parties. (The wine is legal to sell as of this Thursday.) If an establishment put all their money on Drouhin, they’ve got nothing.On the other other hand, this is what’s so difficult about dealing with Beaujolais Nouveau as a retail wine buyer. You have to commit to cases of a wine that isn’t even wine yet, trusting that it won’t be terrible but knowing that it can’t really be all that great. Over the years, Beaujolais Nouveau has turned into a marketing beast. And for the wineries, it’s juicy profit–selling mass quantities of bulk wine at a great price less than a month after making it. The price of Beaujolais Nouveau has risen over the last few years in our country, making it less of a cheap thrill due to higher shipping costs. French winemakers make Beaujolais Nouveau as a quickie, a fun wine to celebrate the end of the harvest…in France, not Seattle. And I don’t think Al Gore would be pleased if he got a peek at this little wine’s carbon footprint. Huh, maybe next year somebody should make a Nouveau de Yakima, save on the carbon emissions, and the mal de tete.**If you live in another part of the country, and your Drouhin distributor wasn’t quick enough on the withdrawal, contact them for instructions. The wine is fine. It tastes fine., and will be fine for Thanksgiving. But if you keep bottles with unfiltered grape solids for the next few months, that could change. In the Seattle area, no bottles went out.** Update from Maison Joseph Drouhin received today, Nov. 16th: Dreyfus, Ashby imported 6,500 cases of the Beaujolais Nouveau. The wine is not being shipped until it has been personally checked by Laurent Drouhin, Dreyfus, Ashby senior management, or a highly qualified wine expert at the distributor. The wine in the parts of the northeast, Texas, Chicago, Florida and Colorado has been found to be up to Drouhin standards…and is being distributed to on- and off-premise customers. In other markets it is being held until it has been checked. If found to have sediment, the wine is being destroyed.