On the wagons with the premier cm
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MOST of us know Beaujolais as red wine, but not much more. Just another title for one of the famous wine growing areas of France which lends its name to the label on the bottle.
Situated some 450 miles south of Calais, the Beaujolais region itself is only 34 miles from north to south and no more than 10 miles across.
The rolling hills of "le Beaujolais" produce red wines that can be drunk young partly thanks to the local black Gamey grape, but also because of the method of wine making. For Beaujolais Nouveau the whole process can take place in less than eight weeks from picking to drinking, although a Government decree of 1951 dictates that none of the wine can be released to the public before November 15 each year.
But why all the fuss over Beaujolais Nouveau and why the annual race to bring the latest vintage from France to Britain?
The answer to the first question must ultimately rest with the wine buffs of the world rather than CM, but the race was popularised by the Sunday Times newspaper in 1974, when it offered a prize for the first person to bring back a sample of the new Beaujolais stock.
Nowadays it is a mainly charitable event, although behind the fast sports cars there trundles a not-soglamorous but significantly larger army of commercial vehicles bringing the bulk of the wine back to British wholesalers, restaurants and importers.
Last week, Ws Brian Weatherley drove a small consignment of Beaujolais Nouveau back to the UK in a Dodge S56 supplied by Renault Truck Industries, while David Wilcox joined up with a 7.5tonne Mercedes 814 run by MB dealer Oldacre Services. Both journeys should have been routine. The customs paperworkwas "well in hand" when both of our vehicles set out, but as with all the best plans if things can go wrong they will — as any driver knows only too well.
Our intention with the S56 Dodge was to drive up from the vineyard to Calais where we would collect T-forms already prepared by Husk of Dover from the Sealink Freight offices. Taking the 7.30am crossing over the channel we would then clear through the Inland Clearance Depot at Baxter Hoare's Erith terminal avoiding a long delay at Dover. Then on to our final destination, a restaurant in Central London.
On arriving at Calais at 6am on Thursday morning our request for T-forms was dismissed with typical Gallic shrugs by the Sealink desk. We were to learn later that the forms had indeed been completed by Husk. It had been arranged for the Sealink staff to contact Husk's Calais representative who would present them to us in person. They did not call Husk, so we did not get our documents.
With time running out we decided to catch the 7.30am Townsend boat and try and complete our documentation with Husk in Dover. Would we get well and truly tied up in red tape in Dover or would we make our 12.30 deadline in London? We may not have started off in the actual Beaujolais race, but it certainly turned out like one.