On November 20, France will celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau Day in 2025! On this third Thursday of the eleventh month, a day of celebrations across France will feature music and fireworks to welcome the first bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau wine.
Over the years, festivities have also spread across the Isle of Wight, and in 2024 several restaurants put on a special Beaujolais breakfast or brunch. So, to get ready for the distinctly French occasion coming this year, we’re looking at France’s other grand influences that are dotted across the island.
A Pioneer of Modern-Day Entertainment
French inventions in entertainment centuries ago remain prevalent to this day. Easily among the most long-standing and closely associated with the French is that of table games – especially European roulette. While many forms of gambling were prevalent among the Parisian elite of the late 17th Century, it wasn’t until Blaise Pascal’s pursuit of the perpetual motion machine was blended with Biribi (an Italian game), that the staple table game of roulette was created. To this day, it remains very much the same and ever-popular among Isle of Wight players.
European roulette remains the standout here because of the competition created on the continent between major casino venues. Some would stick to having two banker pockets – now the zero and double zero – but the French operators opted to cut that down to one, minimizing the house edge for European roulette.
Another entertainment medium that the French popularized towards the end of the 19th Century is cinema, which was said to be born when The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station was screened by the Lumière brothers in 1895. Later, Georges Méliès would cement it as a popular form of entertainment with A Trip to the Moon in 1902. Of course, to celebrate this French innovation, anyone on the Isle of Wight can go to the Commodore Cinema or Cineworld.
French Design Remains on the Isle of Wight
During the 19th Century, the French also reinforced their place as some of Europe’s grandest architects and interior designers. Offering a unique style that often leaned into the opulence of Parisian life, the French look was in very high demand across the continent. This spilt over to the Isle of Wight in a couple of ways. One is still found within the Osborne collection. Dated 1854 to 1855, the French porcelain-mounted cabinet is one of the most eye-catching pieces at the English Heritage site.
The distinctly ornate ornament was crafted by Edouard Kreisser by commission from Queen Victoria at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. The Queen was there to visit Emperor Napoleon III and left with this incredible cabinet. For a much grander depiction of French design still sitting pretty on the Isle of Wight, you can look to Quarr Abbey. The tremendous monastery was brought together by Father Bellot, a Parisian monk whose father was an architect. From 1907 to 1914, he orchestrated the incredible building and imported Belgian bricks to ensure its beauty.
Before you dip your toes into Beaujolais Nouveau Day 2025, be sure to check out the other French influences that have helped to shape entertainment and design on the Isle of Wight.
