Like Wine? You Gotta Try the Beaujolais Nouveau!

It’s November, and for those of us in the know, the 3rd Thursday of the month is a big deal. This day marks the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau wine!

South of Burgundy is a wine region known as Beaujolais. The climate is a bit warmer than Burgundy, so the Pinot Noir grapes popular in Burgundy don’t thrive so well in Beaujolais. That’s ok, though – there’s another grape described as a cousin to Pinot that grows very well in the area: the Gamay grape.

The Beaujolais region had always produced a wine celebrating the end of the harvest – basically, they’d make a wine, and it would be aged only a few weeks before being consumed. It wasn’t until World War II that this young wine could be purchased outside of the region. Marketers saw the potential in selling this wine elsewhere, and in the 1970s, the release of the wine had attracted a lot of media coverage. By the 1980s, the wine could be purchased in other countries in Europe, and in 1990s, it made its way to North America and Asia.

Fun fact: La récolte (the harvest) of these grapes is all done by hand! This can take up to 35,000 people working 15-20 days!

I know what you’re thinking – wine gets better with age, so why bother having some that’s only sat for a few weeks? The shorter the wine’s fermentation process, the fruitier it will be. Plus, this quick process means the wine will be less tannin. Qu’est-ce que c’est ? (What’s that?) You know how sometimes when you drink wine, your mouth tastes a bit dry afterward? That’s tannin.

These two characteristics combined produce a drinkable wine that pairs with almost anything. I was in Whole Foods the other day with my friend, and in the wine section, they were passing out samples of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau. Another customer tried it and commented on how well it went down and how normally he doesn’t like wine. This makes a very nice intro wine!

I’ll drink to that.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

Today there is an important rate meeting.

While it’s widely expected the Bank of England will hike rates, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

The UK economy has the slowest growth of the G7 economies. And there’s plenty of Brexit uncertainty that lies ahead.

The irony is that even if the Bank of England raises rates, it may in fact trigger a fall in the Pound, not a rise.

That’s because any rate rise today is likely to offset by a cautious outlook.

If you have exposure to the Pound, please contact us now for current exchange rates and guidance.

Click here for a free quote

Thanks For Reading, What Next?

To discuss current exchange rates and currency purchasing strategies, please contact your trader today on 01872 487 500.

If you don't yet have an account please request a free quote and we’ll look after you from there.

Have a great day,

Geoff Lambourne - Direct Dial me on 0044 (0)1872 487 470.

Current rates: 

Wednesday 2nd August 2018 at 12:00

£1.00 GBP = 1.1252 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.3075 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7764 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9361 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7044 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.5827 ZAR

Need to Send Money Abroad?

At Clé France, many of our customers have a need for currency exchange.

We are pleased to have partnered with Key Currency to offer our customers favourable exchange rates on international currency transfers.

Key Currency is an award-winning currency exchange specialist, Key Currency Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Authorised Payment Institution (Financial Services Register No. 753989) and experienced in executing high-volume transactions.

As a Clé France website visitor, you qualify for preferential exchange rates when you transact through Key Currency.

Save money on your foreign currency transfers

Key Currency can save you money by offering more competitive rates of exchange than retail banks.

Clients can typically save you 3-4% of the total transaction value, which can result in significant cost savings.

All client funds are held in segregated accounts with top-tier banks keeping your money safe and secure.

Download our "Buying A Property in France" Guide PDF document.

Concerned about Brexit? download our "Buyers Guide to Brexit" PDF document.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk 

Cle France are committed to safeguarding and preserving the privacy of our clients and visitors to our website.

This Privacy Policy explains what happens to any personal data that you provide to us, or that we collect from you whilst you visit our site.

We do update this Policy from time to time so please review this Policy regularly.

Information We Collect

In running and maintaining our website we may collect and process the following data about you:

Information about your use of our site including details of your visits such as pages viewed and the resources that you access. Such information includes traffic data, location data and other communication data.

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Information that you provide when you communicate with us by any means.

Use of Your Information

We use the information that we collect from you to provide our services to you. In addition to this we may use the information for one or more of the following purposes:

To provide information to you that you request from us relating to our products or services.

To provide information to you relating to other products that may be of interest to you.

To inform you of any changes to our website, services or goods and products.

If you have previously enquired about goods or services from us we may provide to you details of similar goods or services, or other goods and services, that you may be interested in.

Where your consent has been provided in advance we may allow selected third parties to use your data to enable them to provide you with information regarding related goods and services which we believe may interest you. Where such consent has been provided it can be withdrawn by you at any time. Any third parties we refer to have signed a data protection agreement with us to ensure their GDPR compliance.

Storing Your Personal Data

We will keep your information only for as long as necessary depending on the purpose for which it was provided. Details of retention periods for different aspects of your personal information are available on request. We cannot guarantee the security of data that you choose to send us electronically before it gets to us, sending such information is entirely at your own risk.

Disclosing Your Information

We will not disclose your personal information to any other party other than in accordance with this Privacy Policy and in the circumstances detailed below:

In the event that we sell any or all of our business to the buyer.

Where we are legally required by law to disclose your personal information.

To further fraud protection and reduce the risk of fraud.

Third Party Links

On occasion we include links to third parties on this website. Where we provide a link it does not mean that we endorse or approve that site’s policy towards visitor privacy. You should review their privacy policy before sending them any personal data.

Access to Information

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 you have the right to access any information that we hold relating to you.

Retention of data

Under RICS Regulations, data will be held for 8 years.

Location of Personal Data

The CRM software ‘Joomla’ is used for holding your information. We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we hold.

ICO

If you believe that there is a problem with the way your data is being handled please contact the Information Commissioners Office.

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Please do not hesitate to contact us regarding any matter relating to this Privacy Policy.

© Cle France Ltd 2018

GBP: Rudderless Pound takes a beating

The Pound had a shocker on Friday after GDP figures (economic growth) were the worst since 2012. The dip in the UK economy has caused a real stir in the City, with many analysts now believing the May rate hike is all but cancelled. 

The pain could continue today after Home Secretary Amber Rudd has resigned. That’s Teresa May’s 4th Cabinet member to quit in the last 6 months. 

EUR: Volatility returns

The Euro has been a bastion of stability for the last 6 months or so, but in recent weeks volatility has returned. 

Against Sterling, the Euro has been whipsawing up and down. It’s not been without reason. 

Both the UK and the EU have had a raft of poor data in recent weeks. The Bank of England and European Central Bank look to be retreating back to the shadows after threatening to change policy. 

If the Euro is to bring back buyers the data needs to improve, but tomorrow there’s a forecast fall in EU and Italian GDP, which won’t help the situation.  

USD: A potential spanner in the works

Unlike the UK, the US delivered a solid GDP reading on Friday. At 2.3% annualised, growth in the US is almost double that of the UK. 

The main event this week is the US Federal Reserve’s May meeting, which runs over Tuesday and Wednesday. No rate change is expected, but it should offer up clues on future rate rises. 

One potential spanner in the works is that four of President Trump’s top advisors head to China later this week for trade negotiations. Trade with China remains a volatile issue. 

Thanks For Reading, What Next?

To discuss current exchange rates and currency purchasing strategies, please contact your trader today on 01872 487 500.

If you don't yet have an account please request a free quote and we’ll look after you from there.

Have a great day,

Geoff Lambourne - Direct Dial me on 0044 (0)1872 487 470.

Current rates: 

Monday 30th April 2018 at 14:50

£1.00 GBP = 1.1385 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.3745 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.8229 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9523 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7654 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.0767 ZAR

Need to Send Money Abroad?

At Clé France, many of our customers have a need for currency exchange.

We are pleased to have partnered with Key Currency to offer our customers favourable exchange rates on international currency transfers.

Key Currency is an award-winning currency exchange specialist, Key Currency Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Authorised Payment Institution (Financial Services Register No. 753989) and experienced in executing high-volume transactions.

As a Clé France website visitor, you qualify for preferential exchange rates when you transact through Key Currency.

Save money on your foreign currency transfers

Key Currency can save you money by offering more competitive rates of exchange than retail banks.

Clients can typically save you 3-4% of the total transaction value, which can result in significant cost savings.

All client funds are held in segregated accounts with top-tier banks keeping your money safe and secure.

Download our "Buying A Property in France" Guide PDF document now.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk 

The Brexit Guide to Buying French Property

For many Brits, owning a property in France is a dream come true.

However, since the UK voted to leave the EU many people have been left wondering what it means for them and whether it is still a good time to buy French property.

Inside this Free Guide we look at how Brexit impacts Brits buying and living in France.

Included inside:

• Can Brits still buy property in France?

• What are the rights of UK citizens living in the EU?

• What’s happening with healthcare & pensions?

• Are French Property prices going up or down?

• The reason Brits are buying again

• Why Brexit has created a window of opportunity

If you're thinking of buying a property in France, then I strongly recommend you take a look at this plain English guide.

Ultimately, it could save you time, money and worry.

Click here for your free copy

Kind regards, 
David Evans

Co-Founder of Cle France.