We first will pay tribute to Louis Pasteur with a visit to his house.

Inventor of the pasteurization process and many vaccines, Pasteur worked also on fermentation, helping to better understand wine making.  "Wine is the healthiest and most hygienic of all beverages", is one of his most famous quote. Full disclosure: Pasteur owned vineyards in Arbois...

Morning will end with a visit to the region's most famous terroir: Chateau Chalon at the family owned domaine Berthet-Bondet. 

Lunch in a Jura village

In 1774, the architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux received orders from Louis XV to build a new industrial site for the production of salt in Franche-Comté.
At that time, the use of salt was essential, but its production was slow. The new plant was based on the technique of artificial evaporation in huge stoves.
Ledoux project was intended to link, under an ideal architecture, production units and workers premises.
Brief visit to the Saline Royale of Arc-et-Senans, known in modern time under "utopia city".

Being in the Comte cheese region we will spend some time at the "Fruitiere de Tourmont" to learn about cheese making.

Besides the Vin Jaune, (see "vinification" described in the introduction page) Jura produces also some red (Poulsard, Trousseau and Pinot noir), rose and other whites (chardonnay) following a more traditional wine making process, as well as a superb sweet wine: the Vin de Paille.

The yield for this wine is limited to 20 hectoliters per hectare. Grapes must then dry on hay (paille) for a least 6 weeks to obtain a high natural concentration of sugar. The drying rooms are ventilated but not heated.

Between Christmas and February the dehydrated grapes are pressed to produce only 15 to 18 liters of must for 100 kg of grapes. 

A slow fermentation, ending naturally will give a 14-15 degrees wine, aging in small barrels for 3 years. 

Our last stop in this region will be in the village of L'Etoile at the Domaine Philippe Vandelle. Philippe's production is interesting for many reasons: exceptional quality and recognition by the French Department of agriculture as a model for processing waste and rigorous production specs.

Dinner at Jean Paul Jeunet; second and last night at this hotel.

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Traditional "Vin Jaune" bottle >>

Jean Paul Jeunet