Leave it to the French to create a wine dichotomy. The third Thursday in November marks the release of Beaujolais Nouveau, the first wine of each new vintage, vin de primeur. At 12:01 A.M. on the appointed day, these wines ship to Paris and around the world, where fans eagerly await their first taste of the vintage. Finding their way into market just six to eight weeks after harvest, the wines are meant to be drunk almost immediately. These wines come from southern Beaujolais, are created exclusively from Gamay, and use carbonic maceration to intensify fruitiness and ameliorate tannin astringency, creating a light, bright, quaffable wine. The following Sunday, just a bit north of Beaujolais in Burgundy, is the Hospices de Beaune charity wi...