The grapes that define Jura: the canonical varietals and how the region expresses them.
The grapes that define Jura: the canonical varietals and how the region expresses them.
The grape behind vin jaune. Left unouilled in oak for six years and three months it grows a yeast veil; topped up instead it gives a straight, citrus-edged white. Chateau-Chalon allows nothing else.
In the glass: Walnut, dried fruit, green apple, toasted almond and curry spice when raised under voile; citrus and saline when topped up.
Shows best in: Chateau-Chalon vin jaune, Arbois vin jaune, Cotes du Jura Savagnin ouille, vin de paille
Permitted across every Jura appellation and the backbone of L'Etoile, where it dominates the encepagement over 67 hectares. It also carries most Cremant du Jura.
In the glass: Pale with silver lights; hawthorn, lime blossom, peach and pear, picking up nut and Comte notes when blended with Savagnin.
Shows best in: L'Etoile blanc, Cotes du Jura Chardonnay, Cremant du Jura
Spelled Ploussard in Pupillin, this is the pale red newcomers mistake for rose. The red marls around the village are its reference soil, and its aromatics gain complexity with age.
In the glass: Pastel ruby shading to orange; wild strawberry, sloe, undergrowth and spice, with the tannin arriving on the attack rather than the finish.
Shows best in: Arbois Pupillin Ploussard, Arbois Poulsard, Cremant du Jura rose
The firmest of the Jura reds, ripening best on the warm gravelly slopes around Montigny-les-Arsures and Les Arsures, and the variety most often cellared in the region.
In the glass: Deep ruby with cherry highlights; strawberry, cherry, blackberry and sloe over white pepper, spice and undergrowth, on round sustained tannin.
Shows best in: Arbois Trousseau, Cotes du Jura Trousseau, Macvin du Jura
The darkest of the three Jura reds and the one most often blended with its cousins Poulsard and Trousseau. It may also form part of the 70 percent core of a white Cremant du Jura.
In the glass: Deep ruby with black-cherry lights; small red and black fruit over a firmer frame than Poulsard or Trousseau.
Shows best in: Cotes du Jura Pinot Noir, Cremant du Jura, Arbois rouge blends
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.