Tip: Montholier worked close to 100 hectares of vine in 1870 and has almost none left, so this is a procession kept up by a village that no longer really grows wine. The team running it has said openly that it needs younger members.
More wine festivals in Jura
Arlay
The Jura's winter weekend, started in 1997 by the Poligny grower Bernard Badoz. Growers from across the vineyard pour in one village's streets and a barrel of the new vin jaune is broached in public.
Pours: Vin jaune from the newly broached vintage, Chateau-Chalon, Cremant du Jura, Macvin du Jura
Tip: Attendance has settled near 45,000 over the weekend, and 2011 passed 60,000. Tickets go through the organiser's own ticketing link and average spend runs around 25 euros. Arlay is small, so take the shuttle rather than driving in.
Arbois AOC
A harvest offering documented at Arbois since 1665. White and black grapes are fixed in alternating bands on a straw frame to make one large bunch, which is carried through the town and presented in the church.
Pours: Arbois whites, Trousseau, Poulsard, Vin jaune
Tip: Admission is free. Since 1922 a grape crown has been built alongside the Biou itself, and the whole thing is the file France has put to UNESCO for the intangible heritage list, with the committee sitting late in 2026.
Arbois AOC
Vadans is one of the twelve Arbois communes and keeps its own Biou, a procession built round the same grape offering as Arbois but on a village scale, with the bunch carried from the Place de la Liberte.
Pours: Arbois whites, Trousseau, Poulsard
Tip: No date rule is published for this one, so check the commune listing rather than assuming the Arbois Sunday. It usually falls three weeks after Arbois, which makes a two-Biou September trip possible.
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