Jura

Question 1

Graben

Answer 1

Geological rift running from the Jura to the Mediterranean, causing climate and soil variations

Question 2

What is Roussette de Bugey AOP?

Answer 2

AOP in Savoie
100% Altesse
Communes Montagnieu and Virieu Le Grande

Question 3

Juracon

Answer 3

France (South East)
Grapes: Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Camaralet, Lauzet
Dry wines as well as spicey, sweet wines are produced here

Question 4

What is Cotes du Jura AOP? What are the allowed red and white grapes? How is their Rose made? Are there any other styles?

Answer 4

Standard appellation for Jura. Reds- Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir.
Whites- usually 100% Chardonnay (Gamay Blanc), though Savagnin (Nature, Traminer) may be blended in. Rose: All five in Vin Gris style. Vin Jaune- Sherry style- only Savagnin. Vine Paille (a Passimento)- all but Pinot Noir. Aged in 18 mth in neutral oak. Need to know producers.

Question 5

Name the AOPs of the Jura

Answer 5

Cote du Jura
Malvin du Jura
Cremation du Jura
Arbois
Chateau Chalon
L'Etoile

Question 6

What is Arbois AOP?

Answer 6

Jura’s leading wine village.
12 Communes.
Produces all styles of Jura wine.
Only Pupillian may append its name to Arbois

Question 7

What L’ Etoile AOP?

Answer 7

White- only appellation near Jura.
Takes name from fossil shaped like five pointed star.
Chardonnay, Poulsard, Savagnin.
Bottled late in an oxidative style.

Question 8

What is Chateau Chalon AOP?

Answer 8

Commune near Jura that specialises in Vin Jaune or Yellow wine. Savagnin in limestone and marl. Desperately oxidised and can age for decades. Kept in barrel until Dec 15 after harvest. Not topped off and a voile, or veil, forms (flor).
Aldehydic, nutty and almost curried Flavor. Not fortified.

Question 9

What is Crement du Jura AOP?

Answer 9

MT designs established in 1995

Question 10

What is the vin de liquor designation for Jura?

Answer 10

Macvin du Jura AOP.
Marc added to unfermented grape must.
May be white, red or Rose and must be aged for 1 year in oak after mutage.

Question 11

What is Vin de Savoie AOP? What styles of wine does it produce? What are the allowed grapes? How does adding a village name affect the wine?

Answer 11

AOP south of Jura. Alpine region with large lages. Some mousseux and perillant. Methode Ancestrale roses from Bugey Cerdon. White- Altesse, Rousanne, Chardonnay and Lessers. Red/ Rose- Gamay, Moudeuse, Pinot Noir and Lessers. Excepagement varies by department. Many villages can add their names to the AOP and communal encepagement can sometimes supersede their generic.

Question 12

What is Roussette De Savoie AOP?

Answer 12

100% Altesse from Savoie communes. Frangy, Marestel, Monterminod, Monthoux.

Question 13

What is Seyssel AOP?

Answer 13

AOP in Savoie to the north of Lage Bouret.
Dry and off dry still and mousseux wines.
100% Altesse for still.
Sparkling adds Molette and Chasselas to a min 10% Altesse

Question 14

What is Bugey AOP?

Answer 14

AOP in Savoie.
Upgraded in 2009.
West of Lake Bourget.
R/W/R and Sparkling Rose Bugey- Cerdon

Question 15

What are three other communal appellations near Cotes Du Jura AOP?

Answer 15

Arbois AOP
L’ Etoile AOP
Chateau Chalon AOP

Question 16

The Jura is located where…..

Answer 16

Near the mountains of Switzerland

Question 17

Jura wines are made from…….

Answer 17

White: Chardonnay and Savagnin
Reds: Poulsard and Trousseau

Question 18

The Jura shares an eastern border with which nation?

Answer 18

Switzerland

Question 19

The region lends its name to ?

Answer 19

The Jurassic Era, where the geologic limestone formations of the age were first studied.

Question 20

What is the climate of the Jura?

Answer 20

Continental, turning harshly cold in the wintertime.

Question 21

The region’s vineyards, found on the mountains’ lower slopes…..

Answer 21

rest upon this Jurassic limestone and marl, with a substantial amount of clay at the lowest sites.

Question 22

The standard appellation in the Jura?

Answer 22

Côtes du Jura AOP, covering wines of all three colors. The three main red grapes of the Jura are allowed for red wines: Poulsard (Ploussard), Trousseau, and Pinot Noir. The dry whites are typically 100% Chardonnay (Gamay Blanc), although Savagnin—known locally as Naturé and elsewhere as Traminer, the relative of Gewurztraminer—may be added as a blending partner. Rosés can include all five grapes, and are usually made in the vin gris style.

Question 23

vin jaune and vin de paille

Answer 23

Pinot Noir is excluded from vin de paille production and vin jaune is exclusively made from Savagnin.

Question 24

Beyond Côtes du Jura, there are three communal appellations in the region….

Answer 24

Arbois AOP, L’Etoile AOP, and Château Chalon AOP.

Question 25

Arbois

Answer 25

the Jura’s leading wine village and home of Louis Pasteur, covers 12 communes producing all styles of Jura wine. A single commune, Pupillin, may append its name to Arbois.`

Question 26

L’Etoile

Answer 26

a white wine-only appellation, takes its name from a local fossil, shaped like a five-pointed star. The wines may contain Chardonnay, Poulsard, and Savagnin, and are generally bottled late in an oxidative style. Unfortunately, the Jura requires intimate familiarity as producer styles vary—particularly with regard to freshness and oxidation in the whites—and no label language currently exists to rectify the confusion. However, changes to make the wines more consumer-friendly are under consideration, including a proposal to officially allow mention of variety on the label.

Question 27

Château Chalon AOP

Answer 27

is a commune—not a producer—specializing in the vin jaune, or yellow wine, of the Jura. Produced exclusively from Savagnin grapes grown on the local limestone and marl, the wine is deliberately oxidized and may age for decades. After fermentation, Savagnin—also called Naturé—is kept in barrel until December 15 of the sixth year following the harvest. The wine is not topped off during this period, and a voile, or veil, develops. The voile is a film-forming yeast that covers the wine’s surface, similar to the flor of Jerez. The resulting wine is aldehydic, with nutty, almost curried flavor carried on a delicate, dry palate. Unlike sherry, vin jaune is not fortified. Château Chalon wines must be bottled in a clavelin, a squat 62 cl bottle, and represent the classic vin jaune style. In poor vintages like 1980 or 1984, the Château Chalon wines may be declassified to the less-specific Côtes du Jura AOP.

Question 28

The golden vin de paille, or straw wines

Answer 28

May be labeled as Arbois, L’Etoile or Côtes du Jura. To produce this rare nectar, ripe but not botrytised grapes are left to dry for a minimum of six weeks after harvest. Traditionally, the grapes are dried on straw mats, although they are often hung to dry or boxed in modern winemaking. As the grapes shrivel and raisinate, they achieve a must weight surpassing 320 grams per liter. Every element of the structure is concentrated; thus, the final wine maintains acidity, giving balance to the high levels of residual sugar and pronounced alcohol content of at least 14%. After fermentation, the wines are aged for a minimum three years before release, including an obligatory 18 months in neutral wood barrels.

Question 29

Crémant du Jura AOP

Answer 29

Method Traditionalle Sparkling Wines. a newer designation established in 1995. Vin de liqueur is produced as Macvin du Jura AOP, wherein aged Marc is added to unfermented grape must, resulting in a sweet, unfermented but alcoholic grape juice. Macvin du Jura may be red, white, or rosé, and must be aged for one year in oak after mutage.

Question 30

Savoie

Answer 30

South of the Jura. Paradise for skiers. Savoie’s continental climate is moderated by Lake Bourget and the larger Lake Geneva—known as Lac Léman in France—Western Europe’s largest body of freshwater. Vineyards throughout the region are dispersed in this mountainous land; the disconnected, flatter stretches of land near the upper Rhône River and the lakeshores are heavily planted. Vin de Savoie AOP is the region’s overarching appellation. White grapes occupy a majority of vineyards; Jacquère is the most common grape but Altesse, Roussanne (Bergeron) and Chardonnay produce higher-quality wines. Gamay, Mondeuse, and Pinot Noir comprise a majority of the red and rosé Vin de Savoie wines. A host of lesser grapes are also allowed for all three colors; the exact encépagement varies by département. A number of villages have the right to add their names to the basic Vin de Savoie AOP, and a more localized, communal encépagement will sometimes supersede the generic appellation. The cru Chignin-Bergeron produces 100% Roussanne wines exclusively, whereas the crus of Marignan, Ripaille and Crépy—all located along the southern shores of Lake Geneva—mandate a minimum 80% Chasselas. The other regional appellation in Savoie is Roussette de Savoie AOP. Roussette is a synonym for the Altesse grape and the appellation’s wines are 100% varietal. Chardonnay is no longer allowed as a blending grape. Four communes may attach their name to the appellation: Frangy, Marestel, Monterminod, and Monthoux. Seyssel AOP is to the north of Lake Bourget and provides dry and off-dry still and mousseux wines. Still Seyssel wines are 100% Altesse, whereas the sparkling wines add Molette and Chasselas to a minimum 10% Altesse. Other sparkling wines in Savoie are produced as Vin de Savoie mousseux or pétillant, and sparkling méthode ancestrale rosés may be found labeled as Bugey Cerdon. Bugey—upgraded to AOP in May 2009—is to the west of Lake Bourget, and produces still wines of all three colors in addition to the sparkling rosé Bugey-Cerdon. The wines of Roussette de Bugey AOP, like Roussette de Savoie, are 100% Altesse. The communes of Montagnieu and Virieu le Grand may add their names to this appellation.

Question 31

Which appellation produces vin de paille?

Answer 31

Cotes de Jura

Question 32

Which commune produces vin jaune?

Answer 32

Chateau Chalon

Question 33

What fortified wine is Vin Jaune from the Jura the most close to?

Answer 33

Sherry

Question 34

Other wine styles found in Jura?

Answer 34

vin de paille made from Chardonnay, Poulsard and Savagnin, a sparkling Crémant du Jura made from slightly unripe Chardonnay grapes, and a vin de liqueur known as Macvin du Jura made by adding marc to halt fermentation.

Question 35

What is the climate of the Jura like?

Answer 35

The climate of Jura is continental with many similarities to Burgundy but can be more aggressively cold, especially in the winter time. Ripeness levels of the grapes is always a concern for winemakers of the area and harvest times are often delayed as long as possible (usually well into late October) to try to achieve the highest levels possible. To help lessen the threat of autumn frost, grapevines are often trained to the Guyot system.[2]

The majority of the regions vineyards are found at altitudes between 820-1,310 ft (250-400 m) between the plains of the Bresse region and the Jura Mountains. The towns of Lons-le-Saunier and Arbois are the principal cities in the wine region. The vineyard soils tend to be composed of mostly clay in the lower flat lands with more limestone based soils in the higher elevation. Deposits of marl are scattered throughout the region with some of the area’s most regarded vineyards being found on those sites. Many vineyard slopes are quite steep which creates problems with soil erosion.

Question 36

Is chaptalisation permitted in the Jura?

Answer 36

Yes it is permitted in the Jura region and is sometimes a necessity to compensate for the low sugar levels in the under ripe vintages.

Question 37

Arbois

Answer 37

Is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée for wines made in the Jura wine region of France, around the town of Arbois. It was the first controlled appellation to be attributed in France, in 1936.[3] Red and rosé wines can be produced from Poulsard, Trousseau and Pinot noir grapes, and white wines from Chardonnay and Savagnin.

Question 38

Chateau- Chalon AOC

Answer 38

Is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée for wines made around the village of Château-Chalon. Only white wines from the Savagnin grape made in the vin jaune (“yellow wine”) style can be made using this appellation. However, the Château-Chalon wines are not explicitly labeled as vin jaune. The wine is known for its longevity, and ability to age for several decades.

Question 39

Crémant du Jura

Answer 39

Is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée for sparkling wines. White and rosé wines can be produced from Poulsard, Trousseau and Pinot noir red grapes and Chardonnay, Pinot gris and Savagnin white grapes.

Question 40

Côtes du Jura

Answer 40

Is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée producing red and rosé wines from Poulsard, Trousseau and Pinot noir grapes, and white wines from Chardonnay and Savagnin.

Question 41

L’Étoile

Answer 41

is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée producing wines from Chardonnay, Savagnin and Poulsard grapes. The wine is produced on 4 communes: L’Étoile, Plainoiseau, Quintigny, Saint-Didier.

Question 42

Macvin du Jura

Answer 42

Is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée producing late harvest vin du Jura fortified with marc du Jura. On 14 November 1991 it received its AOC designation. It is the latest Jurassian AOC becoming the third vin de liqueur to receive such a designation. Macvin has been in production since the fourteenth century. It is made from five permitted grape varieties, and can be red or rosé when produced from the Poulsard, Trousseau and Pinot noir, or white when produced from Chardonnay or Savagnin. The grapes are harvested late in season when their sugar content is at its highest. The grape must is aged in oak barrels for twelve months without prior fermentation in tanks. Marc du Jura, pomace-based eau-de-vie, is then added at a ratio of one litre for every two of must. Fermentation stops, leaving behind residual sugar and a sweet dessert wine.

Question 43

Vin Jaune

Answer 43

Jura’s most famous and distinguishable wine is the sherry-like vin jaune. The wine is produced by picking the Savagnin as ripe as possible, in some cases becoming a sort of late harvest wine, and after fermentation storing it in Burgundian aging barrels for over 6 years. The barrels are filled up to the top and allowed to evaporate, reducing the volume in the barrel and a creating an air pocket at the top of the barrel. During this time the wine oxidizes and grows a film of yeast that is similar, but not the same strain, as the Jerez region flor. The wine is then bottled in a signature clavelin wine bottle that holds 62 cL. Vin jaune is an intensely flavored wine that often requires decanting prior to drinking