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According to statistics issued by the Mutualité Sociale Agricole, around 47,000 grape pickers will work in the Beaujolais vineyards this year - that’s almost the equivalent of the population of Macclesfield and more than the number of people employed in the French Navy.

More than 115 different nationalities will harvest the future 2007 Beaujolais vintage by hand* across the 22,000 ha of vineyards in the region. Although 85% of the pickers are French, the remaining 15% are a truly international group, with workers coming from Turkey, Poland, China, Russia, Albania, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Australia.
47% are under 25, 37% are women, and 90% are lodged and fed by the winegrowers, carrying on a tradition that has been in place for centuries. On average, one grape picker harvests 500kg of grapes per day.

Beaujolais is the only French vineyard (together with Champagne) where hand-picking is the general rule. Beaujolais wines are made from the Gamay grape. Although best known for Beaujolais Nouveau, the region also produces more serious and elegant wines from the various “cru” villages such as Fleurie, Moulin a Vent, Cote de Brouilly.

Recommended producers include Paul Beaudet and Pierre Ferraud.. Nick Dobson stocks a good range of Beaujolais wines in the UK.

For more info on Beaujolais wines see http://www.beaujolais.com