Party time as France cracks into this year's Beaujolais Nouveau
Party time as France cracks into this year's Beaujolais Nouveau

Several thousand wine lovers party into the night as France celebrates the arrival of this year's Beaujolais Nouveau with a festival in Beaujeu, the wine-making region's ancient capital.

Once derided as unfashionable, Beaujolais's wines are becoming increasingly hip again for their unpretentious side and easy drinking qualities.

"Beaujolais isn't an old person's wine… I think it's a wine for celebrating and having a good time together," one festival-goer tells AFP.