Top 100 white wines of Jura
Discover the top 100 best white wines of Jura as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the white wines that are popular of Jura and the best vintages to taste in this region.
The Jura is a small wine region in eastern France that is responsible for some very special and traditional wine styles. It is close to the Swiss Jura, but quite distinct from it. Wedged between Burgundy to the west and Switzerland to the east, the region is characterized by a landscape of Wooded hills and the winding topography of the Jura Mountains. The Jura vineyards cover just over 1,850 hectares, forming a narrow strip of land almost 80 km Long from North to South.
The total area is steadily increasing, but is still less than one-tenth of the area planted with vines two centuries ago, before Phylloxera decimated the region's vineyards. Jura wines are sold under five main appellations, the most important of which are Arbois">Arbois and Côtes du Jura. Five main Grape varieties are used in the region's wines - three traditional and two more modern imports. The first of the local varieties is Poulsard (or Ploussard as it is called in the communes of Arbois and Pupillin), a red grape that accounts for about a fifth of the region's plantings.
Savagnin is a white grape variety originating from the Austrian Tyrol. It arrived in Franche Comté and quickly became the flagship variety of the Jura. Cousin of the gewurztraminer, it gives small white bunches. Its berries have a thick skin which resists well to grey rot and to diseases in general. Savagnin thrives on marl soils and is a very aromatic grape variety. It is used in the elaboration of yellow wine, the AOC Château-Châlon is the most representative. This grape variety also produces vin de paille which is a sweet wine for which the ripe grapes are dried on a bed of straw for at least 6 weeks before being pressed. The best known AOC straw wines are: Arbois, Côtes-du-Jura and Etoile. Savagnin is also used to make Macvin du Jura, a liqueur wine, and to make Crémants du Jura.White wines made from Savagnin have great aging potential. They have a powerful and complex aroma with notes of walnut, almonds, hazelnuts, flowers, honey and green apple.
white wines from the region of Jura go well with generally quite well with dishes of poultry, mushrooms or mild and soft cheese such as recipes of gratin of coquillettes with ham, pan-fried oyster mushrooms or baked eggplant with mozzarella.