Very excited to visit the Astor center today, and taste my favorite wines from 23 growers from the Jura! I had met most of them on a trip in the Jura a few years back.

Jura wine is unlike any wine you may have ever had ... this is due to both the soil (clay and limestone) and the way that wine is sometimes deliberately oxidized, so it takes on a sherry character that most people quickly grow to love. The white grapes are Chardonnay and the local white grape Savagnin. The red grapes are Poulsard (always grown on claysoil) and Trousseau (always on limestone soil) along with Pinot Noir.

Traditional winemaking in stainless steel vats with malolactic fermentation takes place with local yeast and limited additives. The whites are matured in oak for at least two years, often in a way that encourages a layer of  yeast to regulate oxygen and give the wine a characteristic aroma and taste. 

Above are the wines from Stephene Tissot, who showed me how different Chardonnay can taste when it is grown on limestone vs. clay soil.

“No!” the passionate Frenchman says, starting a heated discussion about the Poulsard grape among a group of vignerons in the opulent dining room of the two-Michelin-star restaurant Jean-Paul Jeunet. We are in the Jura region of France, a wildly beautiful and rugged expanse of land with well-trained vineyards, spotted cows, and sleek horses at every turn. Where the Wild Things Are could very well have been conceived in the Jura.

Poulsard (also called Ploussard) is one of the three indigenous grapes in the Jura, and at the moment it dominates the conversation among the producers, who speak of it in the passionate tone familiar to moviegoers from the Miles character in Sideways. I am in Arbois, one of the more famous wine appellations here, to discover more about Jura and its unusual, signature wines rarely seen outside France. Happily, thanks to some ambitious importers you can find these special wines in New York and other major cities. You are certain to find them delicious and quite exotic, flavored with the seductive spices of the East.

Jura is about an hour from Burgundy, France and two hours north of Switzerland. The region's wines are incredibly long-lived. At a tasting in New York last Spring, I had a 1952 vintage Savagnin (the signature white grape) that was remarkably fresh and delicious. Its charismatic producer, Jean-Francois Bourdy, explained that such long-lived wines are common in his cellar, which had been in his family for fifteen generations. Dust off your history books and you will find that wines from Jura were famous with kings, which partially explains the prosperous appearance of so many villages that date from the Middle Ages. To produce Jura wine – especially the signature Vin Jaune and Vin de Pailles – would have been like having a private gold mine in your cellar.

Today I am in the tiny yet ambitious appellation of Pupillin, where young, onyx-haired Damien Petit, of his family’s Desire Petite Vineyards, proudly introduces me to his village of less than 164 souls and escorts me through his vineyards. The tenderly trellised vineyards lie in dramatic contrast to the wild, untamed hills surrounding them. Perched on one towering hill are giant white letters spelling Pupillin, in the style of the famed Hollywood sign. Stepping into the vineyard (with the driving, dramatic rain and willful wind pelting from all directions), one looks down and can see a mosaic of earth, limestone shards, and the signature red clay soil known as marl.

Marl is key to the success of the Poulsard grape, which is the most important grape in this village. Poulsard makes a light, nearly transparent red wine with the aroma of fresh young red berries, typically strawberries, and pairs very well with savory dishes (especially those prepared with mushrooms). Before our tasting of wines from other producers in this region and from his cellars, Damien gives me a tour of the winery and wine shop his grandfather created decades earlier. It is neat and clean, with stacks and stacks of boxes of the (drying) Poulsard grape used to make the sweet dessert wine Vin de Paille (nectar of patience), a specialty of the area. In accordance with tradition, these grapes are picked late in the season, and left to dry in boxes over the winter until they look like raisins, at which time they are pressed and fermented. Seeing them now, in early October, they still look moist and in plump, grape-like form. I imagine what it would be like to taste one, yet must content myself with a sample of the finished product – the Vin de Paille – to come later in the tasting.

Looking about the cellar, I see family pictures showcasing generations of Petits posing with their boxes of drying Poulsard grapes. The earliest photos are sepia colored, then black and white, then Technicolor, than a sharper, modern color to showcase the appearance of little Damien holding his mother’s hand. Little remains of that child, as Damien is today a sophisticated salesman and ambassador for his wine and his region. Yet his mother, who just now brings baskets of bread to the tasting room, looks remarkably the same as she did then, down to her slim figure, slacks, and short red-brown hair.

We taste Desire Petit Vineyards wines and many other excellent wines of the region from producers and cooperatives. All are excellent: the whites have the characteristic spice and exotic richness of the region, the red Poulsard and Trousseau are fruity, and the “speciality wines” – the Vin Jaune and Vin de Pailles – are well balanced and delicious.

Lunch takes me to Auberge du Grapiot, a very cute and busy place with good food and the usual smiling, nimble staff. Looking at the bustling scene, consisting of what looks to be romantic couples, gossiping friends, and business people, I wonder how they all happened to turn up at the same time in this sleepy-looking village.

Did you know that Louis Pasteur was born in Arbois, one of the four AOC wine making regions in Jura? Or that beyond his work with milk, he helped further the perfection of wine and beer fermentation? A question about wine- and beer-making prompted Pasteur's research into fermentation. Using a microscope he found that properly aged wine contains small spherical globules of yeast cells, whereas sour wine contains elongated yeast cells, leading him to the discovery that to produce the correct type of fermentation it is necessary to use the correct type of yeast.

Pasteur lived in Arbois all his life. I tour his house, which has been turned into a museum. It is a thrill to walk through his hallways and rooms, and to peer out the window and see the same village he must himself have seen every day (in the Jura, little changes from year to year, decade to decade, century to century). Afterward, I taste wine from his vineyards, now owned by Henri Maire. As I drink the Recolte (vintage)  1983 I am overwhelmed by its freshness and delicious taste, very elegant and balanced, with sophisticated strawberry jam flavors.

Next up is a tasting in the cellars of Stephane Tissot in Arbois, with winemakers from the region. In addition to current vintages for sale, a few producers break out dust-covered bottles of 1969 and 1989, both banner years. Which brings us to that dinner with the producers at the abovementioned Jean-Paul Jeunet, which, with its two Michelin stars, is a destination for wealthy people who like good wine and food. It is a very busy place and the cheese cart looks fantastic.

Today’s tour of the Arbois AOC, from the sepia photographs at Desire Petit to the nineteenth century home of Louis Pasteur and the bustling Jean-Paul Jeunet restaurant, demonstrated how historically important yet vibrant this area really is.
 

As the region is just two hours' drive from Geneva, I landed in that city (it's closer than Paris) and drove from the Jura mountains. As you can imagine, it was a gorgeous drive. You see many cows of many varieties along the vast expanses of land, and horses too. At times you pass through small, medieval villages — they are so small and ancient they look like movie sets, with a “front” for a post office, etc.

Our hotel, Parenthese, has a pool, spa, and gourmet restaurant where lunch and dinner can be had. The wine list offers many specialties of the region. For lunch, we had a Cremant (sparkling wine) from the region, made from Chardonnay grapes. In France one is not allowed to call sparkling wine outside of the Champagne region “Champagne” even though the traditional method of production is the same, so it is called Cremant.

The adventure of the day consisted of a visit to Chateau Chalon, an AOC known for making spectacular Vin Jaune from the Savagnin grape. It is located at the top of a tall hill — a breathtaking site — with many vineyards at the base of the hill. Atop it is a spectacular, ancient-looking village full of history, containing a 13th century castle and a Romanesque church dating back to the 11th century. In the Maison de la Seille (a museum of sorts dedicated to Vin Jaune) we tasted many vintages of that wine from Chateau-Chalon, including (my favorites) the 1937, 1989, 1998, and 2002. I especially loved the 1937 — not just for the dusty ancient bottle, holding grapes picked more than 70 years ago, but also for the delicious, savory walnut and mushroom flavors. The wine is produced so that it can be drunk at seven years, yet clearly can extend for nearly a century.

At dinner, again at the hotel's restaurant, Au Verbe Aimer, we had vintage '06 Cremant, as well as Chateau D'Arly 2002, a red wine made from different local red and white grapes, which had a palate of fresh strawberries and kola nut – quite interesting. More adventures tomorrow.

The wine was produced by the two brothers who own Domaine Jean Bourdy, and as I tasted it, that soliloquy from the film Sideways came to mind (the one in which the Mia character says that when she tastes old wines she thinks about all the people who picked the grapes and made the wine, wondering about the weather and if any of them were still alive).

Unlike Mia, when I taste old wine, I’m thinking more about the acidity, the balance, and what keeps the freshness in the wine more than anything else. I absolutely could not believe that a half-century year old wine could be so fresh and vibrant, yet then again, it must be the combination of the cold northern region and the very special soil of the Jura. And of course the wine probably has not moved out of its freezing cave since it was laid away.

Domaine Jean Bourdy was created between 1475 and 1500, and the brothers represent the family’s 15th generation. Their small village, Arlay, is located in the heart of the Jura’s vineyard with all vines (10 hectares) made with the biodynamic technique since 2005. “We vinify wine in the traditional method, and also exactly how it was done at the end of the 19th century,” the brothers tell me, adding the wines are untreated and are always put in old casks for maturation.

The Jura is one of the oldest vineyard areas in France, dating back to the sixth century. The Phoenicians brought vine cuttings with them. The climate is continental and the soils are similar to Burgundy. Of the five major grape varieties in the region, only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will sound familiar. The others include (white) Savagnin and (red) Trousseau and Ploussard.

Savagnin is a grape with a remarkable personality. Walk into any sophisticated wine shop and tell the clerk you are going to test someone’s blind tasting skills, and they will put a bottle of a wine called Vin Jaune, made from the Savagnin grape, in your hand. Vin Jaune (old wine) is a specialty of the Jura and is something of an acquired taste. After a normal fermentation, the wine is left in ancient wooden barrels to age for a minimum of six years. A layer of yeast forms on top of the wine (similar to the flor that develops in the production of Sherry). The flor prevents the wines from becoming oxidized too quickly and gives a nutty flavor to the wine.

“What would I pair this with?” I ask myself absently, somewhat surprised when a fellow wine taster near the table answers: “Comte cheese and walnuts.” And he’s right. The rich, slightly bitter finish of the walnuts and creamy cheese would go quite well with this sherry-like wine. Now Ploussard, the red wine, is usually paired with Pinot Noir to add color and structure to the blend. Trousseau is more robust and deeply colored than Ploussard and I have heard yet not verified it is sold by the glass at the five-star restaurant Jean-Georges.

Of course, you can find many types of wines from the Jura … including Cremant du Jura, their version of sparkling wine, and dessert wines (called straw wines or Vin de Paille). Wines from the Jura are exotic and, for the most part, affordable. In any event, visiting a wine bar and asking to taste a wine from the Jura represents a delicious and exotic pleasure.

The wine was produced by the two brothers who own Domaine Jean Bourdy, and as I tasted it, that soliloquy from the film Sideways came to mind (the one in which the Mia character says that when she tastes old wines she thinks about all the people who picked the grapes and made the wine, wondering about the weather and if any of them were still alive).

Unlike Mia, when I taste old wine, I’m thinking more about the acidity, the balance, and what keeps the freshness in the wine more than anything else. I absolutely could not believe that a half-century year old wine could be so fresh and vibrant, yet then again, it must be the combination of the cold northern region and the very special soil of the Jura. And of course the wine probably has not moved out of its freezing cave since it was laid away.

Domaine Jean Bourdy was created between 1475 and 1500, and the brothers represent the family’s 15th generation. Their small village, Arlay, is located in the heart of the Jura’s vineyard with all vines (10 hectares) made with the biodynamic technique since 2005. “We vinify wine in the traditional method, and also exactly how it was done at the end of the 19th century,” the brothers tell me, adding the wines are untreated and are always put in old casks for maturation.

The Jura is one of the oldest vineyard areas in France, dating back to the sixth century. The Phoenicians brought vine cuttings with them. The climate is continental and the soils are similar to Burgundy. Of the five major grape varieties in the region, only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will sound familiar. The others include (white) Savagnin and (red) Trousseau and Ploussard.

Savagnin is a grape with a remarkable personality. Walk into any sophisticated wine shop and tell the clerk you are going to test someone’s blind tasting skills, and they will put a bottle of a wine called Vin Jaune, made from the Savagnin grape, in your hand. Vin Jaune (old wine) is a specialty of the Jura and is something of an acquired taste. After a normal fermentation, the wine is left in ancient wooden barrels to age for a minimum of six years. A layer of yeast forms on top of the wine (similar to the flor that develops in the production of Sherry). The flor prevents the wines from becoming oxidized too quickly and gives a nutty flavor to the wine.

“What would I pair this with?” I ask myself absently, somewhat surprised when a fellow wine taster near the table answers: “Comte cheese and walnuts.” And he’s right. The rich, slightly bitter finish of the walnuts and creamy cheese would go quite well with this sherry-like wine. Now Ploussard, the red wine, is usually paired with Pinot Noir to add color and structure to the blend. Trousseau is more robust and deeply colored than Ploussard and I have heard yet not verified it is sold by the glass at the five-star restaurant Jean-Georges.

Of course, you can find many types of wines from the Jura … including Cremant du Jura, their version of sparkling wine, and dessert wines (called straw wines or Vin de Paille). Wines from the Jura are exotic and, for the most part, affordable. In any event, visiting a wine bar and asking to taste a wine from the Jura represents a delicious and exotic pleasure.