Vin Jaune Wine Festival Jura - Pércée du Vin Jaune

Vin Jaune wine festival in Jura, La Percée du Vin Jaune

29 Feb “AND IT WAS ALL YELLOW”- PERCÉE DU VIN JAUNE

Posted at 21:04h in Uncategorized by rhonegirl

“And it was all yellow.” for the 26th edition of the Percée du Vin Jaune held on the first weekend of February. This year, the town of Arbois hosted this wine festival dedicated to the signature golden-hued wine, hailing from the Jura region of France, in its unique squat-sized bottle, yellow wine vin jaune. It’s a wine that shines, that fraternises, that brings people together” according to TF1

The inhabitants of the commune Arbois in the heart of the Jura lent their cellars, barns and garages to the vignerons for the weekend so they could pour their wines to event attendees. Vin Jaune was on offer, pouring other wines in their range. If you have dreamed of tasting wine out of a french cellar, this is a wine tasting to put in your calendar.

How is the Jura wine made?

To have a festival dedicated to this yellow wine vin jaune for over 20 years requires understanding what makes this wine so unique.

This wine has spent six years aging in barrels and develops oxidative characteristics due to the loss in wine known as the angels share part des anges. This wine is intentionally left to evaporate, causing oxidation; in a non-oxidative wine, these barrels would be topped with wine every few weeks to avoid the character vin jaune seeks.

Think of what happens to a green apple when it comes in contact with oxygen; it turns brown and can develop a bruised apple character. Vin Jaune develops this characteristic of hazelnuts, mushrooms, and brine. Each bottle of vin jaune is unique. The wine can be considered difficult to understand and appreciate independently, often harmoniously matched with recipes of the French culinary world; some might even put it in their cooking.

What does Percée du vin mean?

Percée means the drilling. During La Percée du Vin Jaune, there is a drilling of a barrel of vin jaune, transported through the town, which hosts the wine fair like a treasure in front of over 35,000 people.

Percée du Vin Jaune ticket and inclusions

On entry into the tasting, you receive a wine glass, a neck bag to protect your wine glass, ten perforated tasting tickets, a wine route map of where to taste and the option to stow your car keys in a tent for the duration of the tasting. Don’t like vin jaunes? There’s something for everyone with an opportunity to taste sparkling Crémant du Jura, white and red wines, plus four vin jaunes.

It’s very much about choosing your adventure. Each wine cave is marked by an angel with a number corresponding to the number and name of the cave on the wine route map.

Tasting at a Jura Wine Cave Arbois La Percée du Vin Jaune

Descending into the caves is an experience; dogs and humans are welcome. Perforating the tasting card, you exchange a ticket for a taste of vin jaune or another wine on offer. After expending the vin jaune tickets, there’s a realisation no two wines are the same, some savoury, some harsh, stumbling across the balance at Domaine La Croisée Comtoise.

When you come up for air between tastings, there are sounds of local bands producing exquisite music, comedians making jokes and DJs to keep the town pumping to the rhythm of the weekend.

Be sure to drink water and taste the wines at your own pace. Vin jaune makes people friendly and sociable, but it also can bring on intoxication. For some, the day starts clean, and with a sweep of the tasting caves, it ends very messy. Thankfully, there are buses to transport attendees out of the town and long walks back to the parking lot to assist people with sobering up.
Smells of cooked cheese carried through Arbois. The favourite Maroilliflette, potato cooked with maroille cheese (famously one of the smelliest in France) stuffed into a focaccia sandwich. Who said carbs on carbs aren’t a thing? You’ll find a meal like this costs seven euros. Expect a rustic presentation with serve-yourself, napkins, and pepper and salt shakers on the table. Chesee was also sold in cone loads, a choice of morbier and comté.

Maroilliflette, potato cooked with maroille cheese in Focaccia bread

Food Pairings and Recipes with Vin Jaune

Not everyone has the luxury of experimenting with vin jaune; the wine isn’t cheap, but the bonus is you can keep a bottle in the fridge, and thanks to its natural oxidative character, it’s one of the few wines that last for months.

Dip your toes in these food pairings with vin jaune:

Comté cheese, which hails from the same region, is a charming pairing with white wines of France, including those of the Vallée du Rhône.. Comté ranges in age, available for purchase from six months up to 36 months. There is a museum Maison de Comté dedicated to this cheese in the town of Poligny (in Jura.

Chicken with Vin Jaune and Morilles, François Duthey’s recipe, is included in the exceptional book On va deguster La France. The recipe consists of chicken, morel morilles mushrooms, a Jura wine savagnin, and vin jaune.