The slogan ''It's Beaujolais Nouveau time" replaced the time-honored cry of ''Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!" (''Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived!") when revelers rang in the wine at midnight yesterday with a worldwide bacchanalian feast.
The new slogan is part of a $1.17 million campaign by winegrowers to attract a hipper young clientele for their product, amid slumping wine sales in France.
"Instead of drinking Coke, we are telling young people it's better to drink a glass of Beaujolais," said Michel Rougier, head of the group promoting the region's wines.
Which I think is fair. Nevertheless, people are saying this year's crop is the best in almost thirty years, so I guess we'll have to buy a bottle or ten. Too bad it's so darned expensive here - ten dollars a bottle makes it tougher to stock up. On the other hand, a wine store across town (