Biodynamic, organic and natural wine in Jura: the certified estates and low-intervention cellars.
Biodynamic, organic and natural wine across Jura: the certified estates and low-intervention cellars.
A Sud Revermont estate carrying both the Demeter and the AB organic marks. The family says it has farmed biodynamically since 1991, when the seventh generation took over, and an eighth joined in 2022.
Tip: The cellar is called the Cellier des Chartreux because Carthusian monks worked these slopes in the 13th century and the family bought the holding in 1794. Open Monday to Friday 14h to 18h30 and Saturday 9h30 to 12h.
Founded in 1953 by Roger Martin and now 34 hectares at Arbois. The estate converted all its surfaces to organic farming in 1999 and started biodynamics in 2009, and appears on the Biodyvin member list.
Tip: The estate address is on the RN83 but the shop is in town at 8 rue de l'Hotel de Ville, open Tuesday to Saturday 10h to 12h30 and 14h30 to 19h. Go to the shop unless you have booked the cellar.
Guillaume d'Angerville's Jura estate, started in 2012 at Montigny-les-Arsures. Biodyvin lists it among its members, alongside Domaine Tissot in the same village and La Pinte at Arbois.
Tip: Three of the four Biodyvin estates in France's Jura section sit within a few kilometres of Arbois, so a biodynamic day here needs almost no driving.
Benedicte and Stephane Tissot work 35 hectares from Montigny-les-Arsures with a shop on the main square in Arbois. Biodyvin carries the estate as Domaine Tissot, Montigny les Arsures.
Tip: The estate publishes technical sheets for its cuvees, which is rarer in the Jura than it should be and makes it the easiest place to check what a parcel wine is actually made of.
Michel-Henri and Francoise Ratte farm nine hectares at Arbois and describe their wines as made en bio et biodynamie, across Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard, Trousseau and Pinot Noir.
Tip: The estate calls Savagnin by its other local name, Nature, on its own grape pages. Useful to know when you are reading a Jura label that does not say Savagnin anywhere.
A Poligny family making wine since 1659, with most of the current list labelled BIO: the Tradition, the Cuvee Arrogance, the Savagnin Type, the Trousseau Marnes Rouges and the Macvin all carry it.
Tip: The organic range spans 15.50 to 35.90 euros, so this is the cheapest single place in the vineyard to taste a certified organic Jura line from Chardonnay through to vin de paille.
Nathalie and Emmanuel Grand at Passenans state that all their wines come from organic agriculture and show the AB and Eurofeuille marks, across Cremant, ouille whites, sous voile whites, vin jaune and Chateau-Chalon.
Tip: Cellar visits are by appointment on 03 84 85 28 88. Passenans is between Poligny and the Haute-Seille, so book it as the pivot of a day that ends at Voiteur.
Philippe and Melanie Dugois farm 10.3 hectares at Les Arsures with Haute Valeur Environnementale certification since 2013, and the estate gives the 2019 vintage as its first harvest in conversion to organic.
Tip: Open Monday to Friday 10h to 12h and 14h to 18h, Saturday by appointment, closed Sundays and public holidays. Trousseau is the reason to come.
Jean-Claude, Annie and Valentin Credoz work nine hectares from the cliff village. The estate describes itself as en conversion bio, so the certified label is not there yet and the bottles say so.
Tip: Conversion takes three years in France, so ask at the cellar which cuvees are already through it. The Cotes du Jura Blanc Vieilles Vignes is already labelled BIO on the estate's own list.
Evelyne and Pascal Clairet have made wine at 5 Petite Place in Arbois since 1991, farming organically under Ecocert and describing their wines as made without additives and without buying in fruit.
Tip: The Bistrot de la Tournelle opened in the estate's garden by the Cuisance in 2006 and is the place to drink the wines rather than just taste them. Ring 03 84 66 25 76 for the season's days.
The Poligny estate bottles an organic Poulsard with no added sulphur, listed at 18.90 euros for the 2023. It is the most easily bought zero-sulphur bottle in the vineyard.
Tip: Ask for it chilled and keep it that way. Buy it on a day you are driving home rather than at the start of a week in the car.
Peak wine-travel season in Jura is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.
classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.
most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.
tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Jura rewards trust.