Japan receives 2007 Beaujolais shipment

NAGOYA, Japan, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The first shipment of the year of Beaujolais Nouveau arrived in Japan this week, with customs officials in the Aichi Prefecture inspecting the wine shipment.

Nearly 700,000 cases of Beaujolais Nouveau are expected to be imported into Japan this year from France, with the recent shipment scheduled to go up for sale next week, the Kyodo news service said Saturday.

Distributor Asahi Breweries Ltd. said that prediction would mark a 20 percent drop in the amount of the fruity wine imported into Japan in comparison to last year.

The brewery group also said this year's product is especially fruity and light, due in part to the good weather France enjoyed in August and September.

The annual launch of the wine, which comes from France's Beaujolais region, is typically seen as an indicator of the year's harvest.

Asahi Breweries told the news service that its 2007 product will cost nearly 5 percent more than last year's wine, due to the rising value of the euro.