-- the first wine of the year -- one week ahead of the French.

The Beringer Nouveau Gamay Beaujolais 1993 has been on sale at Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort and The Chancery Wine Bar since Friday.

It is the first time the product has been available on the Island since it was first launched a few years ago.

The French Beaujolais Nouveau, which is made from the same Gamay grape, does not arrive in Bermuda until the end of this week.

Mr. Trevor Nicholls, managing director of J.E. Lightbourn & Co., which imported the Californian brand, said: "There's a bit of rivalry between the two.

"It's obviously a marketing ploy by the Americans to bring theirs out just before the French.'' He described the Beringer Beaujolais as "very light and fruity''.

The American version will soon be on sale at local supermarkets and other retail outlets for $8.50, compared with the $12 to $15 price range of its French rival.

In Europe, races to be among the first to receive a bottle of French Beaujolais Nouveau have become something of a tradition.

But the French Government has been clamping down on the ritual due to speeding offences and traffic accidents, said Mr. Nicholls.

It is common now for wine distributors to be given the product ahead of its launch date on condition that it is not sold to the public beforehand.

Beaujolais Nouveau must be drunk fairly quickly -- "within six months,'' recommends Mr. Nicholls.

AMERICA FIRST -- J.E. Lightbourn managing director Mr. Trevor Nicholls holds up a bottle of American Beaujolais Nouveau.