Jura wine region French wine region guide: location, history, appellations, grapes & food
The Jura is a small, original mountain wine region famous for unique styles such as Vin Jaune, matured under a veil of yeast, Vin de Paille and characterful whites and light reds from rare local grapes.
More info about the Jura wine region
Geographic position
Eastern France, between Burgundy and Switzerland, on the western foothills of the Jura mountains, along a narrow 80 km strip from around Salins-les-Bains and Arbois to Lons-le-Saunier and Saint-Amour, at about 820 to 1,650 feet of altitude.
Origin & history
Vines have been grown here since Roman times, and the region belonged to the Holy Roman Empire and the Spanish crown before becoming French in 1678. Louis Pasteur, born in nearby Dole and raised in Arbois, studied fermentation here. Arbois became one of the first French AOCs in 1936.
Main appellations & varieties
Arbois, Côtes du Jura, L'Étoile, Château-Chalon (Vin Jaune only) and Crémant du Jura. Grapes include Savagnin, Chardonnay, Poulsard (Ploussard), Trousseau and Pinot Noir.
Food specialties
Comté cheese, Morbier and Mont d'Or, Morteau and Montbéliard sausages, chicken with Vin Jaune and morel mushrooms, and smoked meats from the mountain farms.