Comté ageing cellars of the Arnaud house inside a former military fort in the Haut-Jura, visited on a guided tour with tasting. Bring a coat, it is 8 degrees inside.
Cheeses: Comté
Website: fort-des-rousses.com/fr
English Wikipedia names the local Comté as a common pairing for vin jaune. An aged wheel's hazelnut and roasted notes meet the walnut and spice of a wine aged more than six years before release, and the wine's sharpness keeps the dense paste from cloying.
The longest-aged Comtés, dense with roasted notes and the small white tyrosine crystals INAO describes, meet Château-Chalon, the vin jaune of the marl slopes around that village. Both are nutty and concentrated, so neither one drowns the other.
A well-aged Comté has roasted, hazelnut depth. Savagnin aged under a yeast veil in casks that are never topped up takes on walnut notes of its own, which echo the cheese, and its high acidity keeps the dense paste from cloying.
Address: Fort des Rousses, 39220 Les Rousses, Jura
Fruitière at 1,100 metres in the Haut-Jura, one of the last four dairies making Bleu de Gex AOP beside Comté. Free visits without booking; arrive before 10am to see the cheese being made.
Cheeses: Comté, Bleu de Gex
Visiting: Free self-guided viewing gallery over the workshops (daily, no registration), a video of about 10 minutes, shop and 24-hour vending machine, guided tastings for groups and schools on booking
Village cooperative at Doucier making Comté and Morbier. Its morning viewing gallery is closed during October 2026; the shop sells its Comté, Morbier and local products.
Visiting: Viewing gallery over Comté and Morbier production in the morning (making runs about 8h30 to 9h30, production visits suspended during October 2026), shop with local products, guided visits July and August only, by reservation
Raw-milk cooperative at Lavigny, between Lons-le-Saunier and Château-Chalon, making Comté, Morbier and Tomme du Jura. Free viewing gallery and a direct-sale shop.
Cheeses: Comté, Morbier, Tomme du Jura, Raclette
Visiting: Free self-guided viewing gallery with large windows over the production area, reached from the direct-sale shop, tasting visits for groups of 10 or more on reservation only
A Comté fruitière set inside the town, one of the last of its kind. A gallery looks onto the vats, and the shop sells three ages of Comté, Morbier, raclette and regional produce.
Cheeses: Comté, Morbier, Raclette
Visiting: Viewing gallery over the vats with a short film, shop with three ages of Comté, Morbier and raclette, 24-hour Comté vending machine
Cooperative at Plasne, between Poligny and Château-Chalon. Book the early guided visit of the workshop and cellars, then taste its Comté, Morbier and Tomme.
Cheeses: Comté, Morbier, Tomme du Jura
Visiting: Guided visit of the workshop and ageing cellars with tasting of Comté, Morbier and Tomme on Wednesdays and Fridays, shop of local products
Cooperative that moved its production from three sites into one workshop at Ivory in 2021. Its Arbois shop sells its Comté and Morbier, and the house specialises in Morbier.
Cheeses: Comté, Morbier, Raclette
Visiting: Shop in Arbois with a 24-hour vending machine (also at Ivory), visits of the Ivory workshop by appointment only, booked five days ahead through the Arbois shop
