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Wine region · France

Jura

A tiny region east of Burgundy with two grapes found almost nowhere else and a deliberately oxidative white wine tradition.

continentalcool

About Jura

Vin Jaune is aged in barrel for six years and three months under a film of yeast — a voile comparable to sherry’s flor — without topping up. The result is intensely nutty, savoury and bone dry, and it is bottled in a distinctive 620 ml clavelin.

Poulsard and Trousseau make pale, delicate, savoury reds that look almost like rosé but taste like structured red wine.

The region has an outsized influence on modern sommelier culture relative to its very small production.

Jura is a wine region, not an appellation

No authority delimits this name or attaches rules to it. A country’s major wine division, usually containing appellations or sub-regions beneath it. That does not make it less real or less useful — it means nothing legal follows from it, and you will not generally find it on a label as a controlled designation.

Grapes

Wines from here

white

Jura Savagnin and Chardonnay

Jura whites made either topped-up and fresh, or deliberately oxidative — two opposite philosophies from one cellar.

white

Vin Jaune

Jura Savagnin aged six years under a yeast film without topping up — intensely nutty, savoury and unlike any other dry white.

Climate

Cool, continental and wet, on the same latitude as Burgundy but noticeably colder and with a much shorter growing season.

These are influences on how a wine turns out, not determinants of it. Picking date, yield, vine age and every winemaking decision sit between the climate and the glass.

Soil and geology

Grey and blue marl over limestone — heavy, water-retentive clay that suits Savagnin and Poulsard, and gives the wines their firm acidity.

WineHQ describes soil in terms of what it demonstrably does — drainage, heat retention, water supply, rooting depth — and not in terms of flavours it is said to transmit. Vines take up ions, not aromas, and no mechanism has been demonstrated by which a mineral in the ground is tasted in the glass. See soil and drainage.

Places within it

  • Arbois — The Jura’s largest appellation, and the town where Louis Pasteur worked out what fermentation actually is.
  • Château-Chalon — An appellation that exists for one wine only — vin jaune, aged six years under a yeast film and bottled in a 62 cl bottle.
  • Côtes du Jura — The Jura’s regional appellation, running the length of the region and covering every style it makes.

What to eat, and how to serve it

Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.

Vin Jaune

Serve at 14–16°C (cellar cool).

Try with salmon, salmon in a cream sauce or vegetarian dishes.

Jura Savagnin and Chardonnay

Serve at 11–14°C (lightly chilled).

Try with fillet steak, salmon or salmon in a cream sauce.

Sources

Sources consulted