The biddies head over to the Jura region of France to drink delicious bubbles and learn more about this little region along the Swiss border. Tune in to learn about Louis Pasteur’s adventures in wine and more!

In this episode:

  • Cremant du Jura
  • Vin de Paille also known as “straw wine”
  • Grapes and varietals in the Jura region

Calla drinking: Cremant du Jura Benedicte et Stephane Tissot

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Sources

Decanter, Vin Jaune Explained

VinoVest, Guide to Jura Wine: Grapes, Styles, 10 Best Bottles

Wine Traveler, Jura

Jura Wine Region Guide, Vins du Jura

Photo Credit: Travel & Leisure

Please note some of these notes may be directly copied and pasted from above sources.

Study notes for Wine from Jura:

THE BASICS

  • Tucked between Burgundy and the Swiss border; a small area in Eastern France
    • Only thing it really shares with Burgundy is Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and clay-limestone soils
    • “If Burgundy is mainstream, Jura is offbeat”
  • Production: 11 million bottles from 230 wineries
  • Landscape is not dominated by vineyards but consists of a mix of pastoral grazing for the cows that make Comte, villages, and vines
  • Arbois was France’s first AOC

HISTORY

  • Wines were cited as early as 80 AD by Pliny the Younger (or Pline le Jeune)
  • 1732 a special decree restricted the number of grape varieties
  • 1774 a list of 14 good varietals was published
  • Louis Pasteur is from Jura
    • In 1886 he published “Studies on wine, its diseases, their causes and new preservation and aging processes”
    • Known as the wine doctor
    • Had a vineyard in Rosieres where he conducted experiments on plant diseases and alcoholic fermentation

GRAPES

  • Chardonnay (43%) local known as Melon d’Arbois and Gamay Blanc; primarily makes fresh, fruity, more modern wines (different type of Chardonnay than other French regions)
  • Savagnin (23%) – aka Nature locally, produces the famed Vin Jaune wine, a bone dry wine
  • Poulsard (14%) – aka Ploussard locally, is a red grape primarily used to make dry reds
  • Trousseau (11%) – red wine grape that requires a lot of direct sunlight to mature properly and only grown in the 5% hottest percent of Jura’s vineyards
  • Pinot Noir (7%) – used mostly for red blends as it tends to be pale and earthy when grown here

APPELLATIONS

  • Arbois – the first controlled appellation in France that produces the gambit; reds from Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir & white from Chardonnay, Savagnin
  • Chateau Chalon – only white wines from the Savagnin grape made in the vin jaune style can be produced here
  • L’Etoile – means “the star” in English and produces Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard
  • Cotes du Jura – produces everything
  • Cremant du Jura – the AOC for sparkling wine that must use Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Savagnin and Pinot Gris
  • Macvin du Jura – produces the late harvest vin de Jura
  • Marc du Jura – brandy appellation

VIN JAUNE

  • A rare style of wine that can be confusing to consumers
  • Jaune meaning yellow in French
  • Comes in a squat-sized bottle
  • Has a unique nutty flavor
  • A dry style or white wine crafted from the Savagnin grape aged for 6+ years under a thin layer, or vail, of yeast called “sous voile aging” prior to bottling
    • Imparts aldehydic flavors of brine, curry, nuts
  • Similar in style and flavor to Fino Sherry albeit non fortified
  • Grape is harvested later to achieve higher potential alcohol after fermentation
    • Fermentation occurs slowly and the wine is not topped up which allows for the voile to grow
    • Voile also protects the wine from oxidation
  • Bottle is called a Clavelin and is just 62cL – because of the length of the winemaking and the fact that a significant portion of wine evaporates over time (called the angel’s share) and so it is bottled in a special sized bottle

VIN DE PAILLE

  • “Straw wine” – a sweet wine made from dried grapes
  • Made using Chardonnay, Poulsard, and Savagnin

CREMANT DU JURA

  • Sparkling wine made with slightly unripe Chardonnay grapes
  • Made in the traditional method
  • Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Savagnin 
  • Must be hand picked from the vineyard, transported in crates with holes to let the grapes oxidize, and pressed as whole grape clusters
  • Also Cremant roses that may normally include a small percentage of Poulsard

MACVIN DU JURA

  • Vin de liqueur
  • Macvin wine has been produced here since the fourteenth century
  • Uses only 5 permitted grape varieties
  • While the grape juice is fermenting, vintners add a pomace-baced eau-de-vie to halt fermentation, leaving behind residual sugar
  • Can be white, can be red, can be somewhere in between