What do the French eat with Beaujolais Nouveau?
Charcuterie. For release night, the Beaujolais wine board’s own suggestion is a board of local products: rosette de Lyon, a dry pork sausage, saucisson brioché, a sausage baked in brioche, and a homemade pork terrine (Inter Beaujolais). Served together in Lyon, with a pot of the new wine, that spread is a mâchon.
Lyon has paired the two for a long time. The writer Léon Daudet said the city was watered by three rivers: the Rhône, the Saône and the Beaujolais (Les Bouchons Lyonnais). In the vineyards there is also saucisson au gène, a sausage cooked in the pulp left over from pressing the grapes.
What goes on a Beaujolais Nouveau board?
Nothing that needs cooking, and nothing hard to find in an American store. The British wine writer Fiona Beckett builds the same board (Matching Food & Wine):
- Saucisson or a dry salami.
- Pâté or rillettes.
- Jambon de Bayonne or another mountain ham.
- Cornichons, and radishes with salted butter.
- A crusty baguette.
- One cheese to finish.
The wine is a few weeks old and is not meant to be fussed over. The food follows suit.
Which cheese goes with Beaujolais Nouveau?
Goat's cheese is the wine board’s pick, though it says any cheese will do. Beckett suggests a mature Camembert or Brie, ripe but not overripe, after the charcuterie. In France the cheese comes after the main course and before dessert: the French cheese course, explained. For bottles from closer to home, see the American cheese my French husband approves of.
What appetizers go with Beaujolais Nouveau?
Anything salty and simple. For vegetarians, Beckett suggests raw vegetables, radishes, carrots and fennel, with a young goat's cheese. The wine board’s more surprising idea is oysters with shallots: it says the iodine works with the fruit of the wine. For more of the classics, see 10 French appetizers every American should try.
Does Beaujolais Nouveau go with Thanksgiving dinner?
Yes, and the calendar helps: in 2026 the new wine arrives on 19 November, a week before Thanksgiving. Beaujolais is light and low in tannin, so it does not overpower Brussels sprouts or cranberry sauce, and it works with sausage stuffing (The Kitchn). More on the timing in Beaujolais Nouveau and Thanksgiving.
How cold should it be?
Slightly cool: around 13°C (55°F), about 20 minutes in the fridge. Beckett gives it 30. Which bottle to buy, and why it lands on the third Thursday of November, is in our Beaujolais Nouveau guide.
Questions, answered
What food goes with Beaujolais Nouveau?
Charcuterie first: saucisson, pâté, terrine and ham, with bread, butter and cornichons. Then goat's cheese or a ripe Camembert or Brie.
Does Beaujolais Nouveau go with turkey?
Yes. It is light and low in tannin, so it works with turkey and with sides like cranberry sauce and sausage stuffing.
What cheese goes with Beaujolais Nouveau?
Goat's cheese, or a mature Camembert or Brie that is ripe but not runny.
Can you drink Beaujolais Nouveau with seafood?
The Beaujolais wine board suggests oysters with shallots, and even homemade fish and chips.
Should Beaujolais Nouveau be chilled?
Slightly. About 20 minutes in the fridge brings it to around 13°C (55°F).
Sources: Inter Beaujolais, Beaujolais Nouveau recipes (2025); Fiona Beckett, What to pair with Beaujolais Nouveau (2024); Les Bouchons Lyonnais, on Lyon’s third river; Laura Burgess, The Kitchn, What to drink on Thanksgiving: Beaujolais (2016).
