Saint-Jean-d'Ardieres, France - 12 November 2019

1. Close of 2019 Beaujolais Nouveau bottles on conveyor belt inside wine producer warehouse

2. Wide of bottling production line

3. Tracking shot of bottle along conveyor belt and General Director of Vinescence wine production company, Jean-Paul Civeyrac, walking towards labelling machine

4. Various of machine sticking labels on bottles

5. Mid of Civeyrac holding up bottle, UPSOUND (French) "So it's 2019 Beaujolais Nouveau, then you have the batch name and this indication that the wine comes from an environment-friendly farm."

6. Wide of line of bottles down conveyor belt and employees packing them in cardboard boxes

7. Mid of bottles down conveyor belt with fresh label reading 'Nouveau'

8. SOUNDBITE (French) Jean-Paul Civeyrac, General Director of Vinescence wine production company:

"The market for Beaujolais Nouveau like the one you see here is a global market – the first market in the world being Japan. The French market is also very important but you'll find some around the world, from the United States to Northern Europe. Eastern Europe countries also drink a lot (of Beaujolais Nouveau)."

9. Pan of bottle with fresh label reading 'Beaujolais'

10. Mid of box packed with 2019 Beaujolais Nouveau bottles down conveyor belt to stationing area

Romaneche-Thorins, France - 12 November 2019

11. Mid of Georges Duboeuf logo on side of warehouse of largest Beaujolais Nouveau producer

12. Tracking shot of Duboeuf President Franck Duboeuf walking across warehouse to last stacks of Beaujolais Nouveau yet to be shipped to clients

13. SOUNDBITE (French) Franck Duboeuf, President of Georges Duboeuf wine production company:

"This is the Beaujolais Nouveau that's being shipped to Boulogne and Calais (harbours on the Channel) to our client and then over here, we have another destination with our client (food industry wholesaler) Metro and it will be delivered to Paris."

14. Mid of Duboeuf looking at label on side of Beaujolais Nouveau shipment

15. Wide of Duboeuf standing outside wine shop with logo on façade

16. Pan of Duboeuf arranging bottles on table in front of him

17. Mid of 2019 Beaujolais Nouveau bottles on table with Duboeuf in foreground

18. Wide of showing bottle of rose

19. SOUNDBITE (French) Franck Duboeuf, President of Duboeuf wine production company:

"It's clear that if we didn't have a presence with this year's Beaujolais Nouveau, it could disappear from the (US) market altogether with such important competition and also because it's like a rendez-vous. If you miss the rendez-vous, it could, in following years, jeopardise what you've worked hard to build in 40 years. It was crucial that we save this campaign… in the future, it's the entire 2019 production, an entire region, an entire sector (that are threatened) and it's extremely complicated and worrying."

20. Close of 2019 Beaujolais Nouveau bottles produced for French and export markets by Georges Duboeuf wines

Villie-Morgon, France -12 November 2019

21. Close of Dominique Piron's 2019 Beaujolais Nouveau bottles

22. Wide of bottles sitting on top barrel with Piron in background leaning against stack of casks

23. Close of logo for Piron's winemaking company

24. SOUNDBITE (French) Dominique Piron, Winemaker and President of Beaujolais winemakers' association:

"Japan has lowered its taxes on imports but that doesn't mean they're buying more wine. China imports a lot of wine from Chile and Australia with no-tax deals between governments – that's unfair competition. Global wine trade is complicated nowadays especially at a time when competition is fierce. Globally, wine production is in overproduction and there's a tighter funnel when it comes to sales."

25. Mid of Piron during interview

26. SOUNDBITE (French) Dominique Piron, Winemaker and President of Beaujolais winemakers' association:

"We're lucky enough to see, in the past two or three years and with this new chapter that we're writing, Beaujolais sales on the increase, at a time when red wine consumption is going down globally in favour of Rose and white wines and with strong competition. Just an example: since the beginning of 2019 and up to the end of last August, the first 8 months of the year, French wine exports have fell by 2 percent. Three regions in France have seen theirs increase. The Loire valley with 4.5 percent, Burgundy at 5.5 percent and Beaujolais at 11 percent."

Chatillon, France - 13 November 2015

27. Wide of village of Chatillon, home to the Chasselay vineyard

28. Wide of Chasselay vineyard with view of Beaujolais hills

29. Wide of organic vines in row on Chasselay vineyard

30. Pull focus of vine branches

31. Wide of country road with sign showing direction to Chasselay 'Domaine'

32. Wide of Claire Chasselay wheeling boxes of Beaujolais Nouveau to back of van

33. Mid of Chasselay loading boxes into van

34. SOUNDBITE (French) Claire Chasselay, organic wine grower:

"Today, if you really want to make a living we have to stop selling our wines at a low price. We have to sell it at the right price and a price that generates a living wage for the winegrower but also the wine merchant and the restaurant owner. The right price. It's the same for all agricultural sectors. We're not asking to sell our bottles for 150 euros (166 US dollars) but an appropriate price. Consumers need to be – and I think they are – in a position to realise that they're ready to spend a little more for their wine or their meat or their cheese because they want to drink good quality products."

35. Wide of country road outside Chasselay family estate

Charbonniere-les-Bains, France - 13 November 2015

36. Wide of Chasselay holding door of shop as wine shop manager and oenologist Gaetan Vial wheels in boxes of Beaujolais Nouveau

37. Mid of Vial placing boxes along wall at back of shop

38. Mid of cork being pulled out of 2019 Nouveau bottle

39. Mid of wine being poured into glasses

40. Mid of Vial reaching for glass and smelling wine

41. Mid of Vial tasting wine

42. SOUNDBITE (French) Gaëtan Vial, Wine shop manager and oenologist:

"It has this fresh aftertaste that makes you want to pour yourself another glass. It has strength in taste and substance, so everything you need. You also have the taste of the fruit that's typical of Beaujolais Nouveau and it's balanced. It also has this acidity that's very enjoyable and the tannins are supple so.. yet another good year."

43. Mid of Vial talking to Chasselay

44. Mid of reflection of Vial and Chasselay holding glasses inside shop

LEAD IN:

Last minute preparations are underway in the Beaujolais region ahead of the release of France's most famous young wine.

Beaujolais Nouveau producers are concerned about the impact US tariffs and increased competition will have on their industry.

But it seems the wine itself is tasting good this year.

STORY-LINE:

Production for one of the year's most anticipated wine events is underway.

The grapes making up the wine in these bottles were harvested by hand only a few weeks ago.

At the Vinescence wine production company, wine is being bottled and labelled ahead of the third Thursday of November, when winemakers and sellers are set to uncork the season's Beaujolais Nouveau with feasting and fanfare.

Beaujolais, a region spanning 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of Lyon, has spent decades marketing its wines globally.

It now exports to more than 110 countries, according to statistics from Vinescence, which works with 310 winemakers in the area.

"The market for Beaujolais Nouveau like the one you see here is a global market – the first market in the world being Japan. The French market is also very important but you'll find some around the world, from the United States to Northern Europe. Eastern Europe countries also drink a lot (of Beaujolais Nouveau)," says the General Director of Vinescence, Jean-Paul Civeyrac.

An idiosyncratic wine known for its youth, rather than its age, Beaujolais Nouveau has seen particular success.

But considerable uncertainty is clouding this year's celebration, as the French wine industry finds itself increasingly squeezed by unfavourable geopolitics and turbulent markets.

New American tariffs are denting profits. Brexit still looms. Unrest in Hong Kong has shaken that market. And China is turning to Chilean and Argentine wines instead.

The Trump administration imposed the 25 percent import tax on most French still wines last month as part of a trade spat with the European Union over illegal subsidies for the aircraft giant Airbus.

Orders had already been placed, and places on planes or boats reserved, for this year's Beaujolais Nouveau by the time the tariffs took effect.

Producers said they struck up arrangements to shoulder part of the cost themselves — and distribute most of the rest along the supply chain — in order to retain their American clientele.

Franck Duboeuf, president of the largest Beaujolais Nouveau producer in the world, says the recent market developments are worrying.

"It's clear that if we didn't have a presence with this year's Beaujolais Nouveau, it could disappear from the (US) market altogether with such important competition and also because it's like a rendez-vous. If you miss the rendez-vous, it could, in following years, jeopardise what you've worked hard to build in 40 years. It was crucial that we save this campaign… in the future, it's the entire 2019 production, an entire region, an entire sector (that are threatened) and it's extremely complicated and worrying," he says.

On top of the tariffs, uncertainty lingers around future trade with the United Kingdom, which is heading toward an early election December 12 that will determine the future of Brexit.

When and how Brexit takes shape could impact the wine trade down the line.

Changing tastes complicate the picture further.

The Japanese, who were buying a "tsunami" of Beaujolais a decade ago, seem to be losing their appetite for the wine, says the President of Beaujolais winemakers' association Dominique Piron.

Twelve years ago, French winemakers sold one bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau for every 12 inhabitants in Japan — a total of 12 million bottles per year, according to Piron. Now, Japan imports about half that number.

"Japan has lowered its taxes on imports but that doesn't mean they're buying more wine. China imports a lot of wine from Chile and Australia with no-tax deals between governments – that's unfair competition. Global wine trade is complicated nowadays especially at a time when competition is fierce. Globally, wine production is in overproduction and there's a tighter funnel when it comes to sales."

Other Beaujolais producers, like organic winemaker Claire Chasselay, are orienting their businesses toward local consumers instead.

The size of winemaking operations in the region has grown with global demand.

Fifteen years ago, 4,000 producers made wine here; now, that number stands at 2,000, according to Piron, as big producers have acquired smaller operations and expanded their reach.

The Chasselay family, which has run vineyards north of Chatillon since the 15th century, has sought to buck that trend.

Chasselay says her philosophy centres around returning to winemaking's roots: small-scale, without pesticides, and focused on producing wine for mainly domestic consumers to pair with good food and lively company.

But she insists that Beaujolais Nouveau producers should not be selling their wine cheaply.

"Today, if you really want to make a living we have to stop selling our wines at a low price. We have to sell it at the right price and a price that generates a living wage for the winegrower but also the wine merchant and the restaurant owner. The right price," she says.

The Chasselays decided two decades ago to stop spraying with chemicals their vines, pre-empting the preference for organic products that has gripped younger consumers in recent years and placed pressure on winemakers to adapt their growing techniques.

Though they exported 6,000 of the 22,500 bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau they sold this year, Chasselay prefers to see her wine on nearby shelves and tables.

Eight days before market day, she loaded one of the season's last orders into her van and drove it 17 kilometers to the wine shop and restaurant of Gaetan Vial in Charbonnières-les-Bains.

Swirling the light red around in his mouth, Vial pronounced it "top-notch."

"It has this fresh aftertaste that makes you want to pour yourself another glass. It has strength in taste and substance, so everything you need," Vial says.

"Yet another good year."