Every year, on the third Thursday of November, the Beaujolais Nouveau is released. The Alliance Française invites you to join them in celebrating "les première vendanges," or the first grape harvest of the season at this annual fundraiser. This is an authentic French tradition celebrated around the globe, and Charlotte is one of only 16 cities in the United States recognized as having an official Beaujolais Festival by the Union Interprofessionelle des Vins du Beaujolais.