“No!” the passionate Frenchman says, starting a heated discussion about the Poulsard grape among a group of vignerons in the opulent dining room of the two-Michelin-star restaurant Jean-Paul Jeunet. We are in the Jura region of France, a wildly beautiful and rugged expanse of land with well-trained vineyards, spotted cows, and sleek horses at every turn. Where the Wild Things Are could very well have been conceived in the Jura.
Poulsard (also called Ploussard) is one of the three indigenous grapes in the Jura, and at the moment it dominates the conversation among the producers, who speak of it in the passionate tone familiar to moviegoers from the Miles character in Sideways. I am in Arbois, one of the more famous wine appellations here, to discover more about Jura and its unusual, signature wines rarely seen outside France. Happily, thanks to some ambitious importers you can find these special wines in New York and other major cities. You are certain to find them delicious and quite exotic, flavored with the seductive spices of the East.
Jura is about an hour from Burgundy, France and two hours south of Switzerland. The region's wines are incredibly long-lived. At a tasting in New York last Spring, I had a 1952 vintage Saviagnin (the signature white grape) that was remarkably fresh and delicious. Its charismatic producer, Jean-Francois Bourdy, explained that such long-lived wines are common in his cellar, which had been in his family for fifteen generations. Dust off your history books and you will find that wines from Jura were famous with kings, which partially explains the prosperous appearance of so many villages that date from the Middle Ages. To produce Jura wine – especially the signature Vin Jaune and Vin de Pailles – would have been like having a private gold mine in your cellar.
Today I am in the tiny yet ambitious appellation of Pupillin, where young, onyx-haired Damien Petit, of his family’s Desire Petite Vineyards, proudly introduces me to his village of less than 164 souls and escorts me through his vineyards. The tenderly trellised vineyards lie in dramatic contrast to the wild, untamed hills surrounding them. Perched on one towering hill are giant white letters spelling Pupillin, in the style of the famed Hollywood sign. Stepping into the vineyard (with the driving, dramatic rain and willful wind pelting from all directions), one looks down and can see a mosaic of earth, limestone shards, and the signature red clay soil known as marl.
Article comments
1 - VinVinoWine
Another thrilling wine article! I could taste the wines, I could see the people, I could breath the air of Jura.
Your little articles are like small occasional refreshments to me, reminding of past pleasures and foretelling pleasures to come.
Thank you.
2 - marisa d'vari
What a compliment, thank you!