''Vin jaune'' ( French for "yellow wine") is a special and characteristic type of white

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

made in the Jura region in eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is similar to dry fino

Sherry Sherry ( es, jerez ) is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versi ...

and gets its character from being matured in a barrel under a film of

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

, known as the ''voile'', on the wine's surface. ''Vin jaune'' shares many similarities with Sherry, including some aromas, but unlike Sherry, it is not a

fortified wine Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...

. The wine is made from the

Savagnin Savagnin or Savagnin blanc (not to be confused with Sauvignon blanc) is a variety of white wine grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into Savagnin wine or the famous vin jaune and v ...

grape, with some of the most premium examples coming from the

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

based vineyards in the

Château-Chalon AOC Château-Chalon is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for wines made in the Jura wine region of France, around the village of Château-Chalon. Only white wines from the Savagnin grape made in the ''vin jaune'' ("yellow wine") style can be made ...

. In other

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and America ...

regions, there has been experimentation in producing similar style wines from

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

and other local

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

using cultured yeast such as the ''vin de voile'' wine produced in the

Gaillac Gaillac (; ) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. It had in 2013 a population of 14,334 inhabitants. Its inhabitants are called Gaillacois. Geography Gaillac is a town situated between Toulouse, Albi and Montauban. It has g ...

.J. Robinson (ed), ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'', Third Edition, p. 750, Oxford University Press 2006,

Production

Vin jaune is made from

late harvest Late harvest wine is wine made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual. ''Late harvest'' is usually an indication of a sweet dessert wine, such as late harvest Riesling. Late harvest grapes are often more similar to raisins, but have been ...

Savagnin grapes, a white variety in the

Traminer Savagnin or Savagnin blanc (not to be confused with Sauvignon blanc) is a variety of white wine grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into Savagnin wine or the famous vin jaune and vi ...

family which is less aromatic than the better-known

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz (; although this is never the case in German, because "Gewürz" me ...

. The grapes are usually harvested in late October when the sugars have developed enough to have a potential

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

of 13–15% for the finished wine. The grapes are

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

slowly and then kept in small old oak casks that hold 228 liters (60 gallons). The casks are not topped up, as they are with most wines, so an air gap appears above the wine due to

evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. High concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evaporation, such as when humidi ...

. A film of yeast grows over the wine, protecting it partially (but not totally) from

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...

. In Jura, this film is called the ''voile'' (

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has been prominent ...

), but it is similar to the more familiar " flor" in Sherry production. The ''voile'' yeast has many similar properties to "flor" but thrives better in a lower alcohol environment and develops less heavily and thickly than "flor" does. The ''voile'' typically takes two to three years to develop fully. During this time the wine is exposed to slight levels of oxidation that provoke chemical changes that produce

acetaldehyde Acetaldehyde (IUPAC systematic name ethanal) is an organic chemical compound with the formula CH3 CHO, sometimes abbreviated by chemists as MeCHO (Me = methyl). It is a colorless liquid or gas, boiling near room temperature. It is one of the mos ...

(as well as

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...

, standard alcohol) and the

aroma compound An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently vo ...

sotolon Sotolon (also known as sotolone) is a lactone and an extremely powerful aroma compound, with the typical smell of fenugreek or curry at high concentrations and maple syrup, caramel, or burnt sugar at lower concentrations. Sotolon is the major arom ...

. These compounds contribute to the unique flavors and aromas associated with vin jaune. Winemakers must carefully observe the wine throughout the aging process as there is a risk of it developing the

wine fault A wine fault or defect is an unpleasant characteristic of a wine often resulting from poor winemaking practices or storage conditions, and leading to wine spoilage. Many of the compounds that cause wine faults are already naturally present in wine ...

volatile acidity A wine fault or defect is an unpleasant characteristic of a wine often resulting from poor winemaking practices or storage conditions, and leading to wine spoilage. Many of the compounds that cause wine faults are already naturally present in wine ...

. The wine acquires its characteristic yellow color and nutty flavors as it ages for the requisite time of six years and three months, the time that must elapse between harvest and bottling, although at certain points during this time the wine is not necessarily in the cask. After the allotted time, only about 62% of the original wine remains. The ''vin jaune'' is then bottled in special squat

bottles A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal stopp ...

that hold 62 cl (21

ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman units of measurement, Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The #International avoirdupois ounce, avoirdupois ounce ...

s), called ''clavelins''. Historically the bottle size alludes to the amount of wine left over after six years of aging and evaporation.

Wine regions

The ''

Appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

'' regions permitted to produce vin jaune include Château-Chalon AOC, Arbois Vin Jaune AOC, Cotes du Jura vin Jaune AOC and Vin Jaune de L'Etoile. Those protected "appellations" have existed since 1936. There are also a few other vin jaune-style wines made in France outside the Jura region, such as Gaillac. The term ''vin de voile'' referring to the yeast film, thus indicates this style of wine.

Wine style and serving

Vin jaune is often served at cellar temperature 13–15

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The ...

(55–60 °F) and the wine is sometimes

decanted Decantation is a process for the separation of mixtures of immiscible liquids or of a liquid and a solid mixture such as a suspension. The layer closer to the top of the container—the less dense of the two liquids, or the liquid from which t ...

, exposing it to more oxygen prior to serving in order to stimulate the wine's unique aromas. The wine can be paired with savory food dishes with local Jura cuisine often including chicken recipes where the wine is cooked with the chicken itself and as a sauce component. Another common pairing is the local Comté cheese that is produced in the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

region.

La Percée du Vin Jaune

A festival called ''La Percée du Vin Jaune'' (Opening of the Yellow Wine) is held in the last week of January or the first week of February each year to celebrate release of the newly released vintage, which due to the legal requirements for aging will be the one harvested in the autumn seven years earlier. Recent events, including tasting sessions, have attracted over 30,000 visitors. Each year, a different venue is chosen. They are as follows: * 1997 : Poligny * 1998 :

Arbois Arbois () is a Commune in France, commune in the Jura (département), Jura Departments of France, department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region, eastern France. The river Cuisance passes through the town, which centres on ...

* 1999 :

Château-Chalon Château-Chalon () is a commune in the Jura department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France. The commune is perched on a cliff in the first fold of the Jura mountains. It is reached from the west by a road with numerous hairpin curves. Its ...

and Voiteur * 2000 : L'Étoile * 2001 :

Gevingey Gevingey () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Jura department The following is a list of the 494 communes of the Jura department of France. The comm ...

* 2002 :

Montigny-lès-Arsures Montigny-lès-Arsures (, literally ''Montigny near Arsures'') is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Geography Montigny is located in the heart of the Jura wine region, in the north-east of the J ...

* 2003 :

Arlay Arlay is a commune in the Jura department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Saint-Germain-lès-Arlay was merged into Arlay. History Arlay's early importance lay in the fact ...

* 2004 : Cramans * 2005 :

Saint-Lothain Saint-Lothain () is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Jura department The following is a list of the 494 communes of the Jura department of F ...

* 2006 :

Lons-le-Saunier Lons-le-Saunier () is a Communes of France, commune and capital of the Jura (department), Jura Department, eastern France. Geography The town is in the heart of the Revermont region, at the foot of the first plateau of the Jura massif. The Jur ...

* 2007 :

Salins-les-Bains Salins-les-Bains (), commonly referred to simply as Salins, is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. It is located on the departmental border with Doubs, 34.8 km (21.6 mi) to the south-southwes ...

* 2008 : Vincelles * 2009 : Passenans and

Frontenay Frontenay () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, ...

* 2010 : Poligny * 2011 :

* 2012 : Ruffey-sur-Seille * 2013 : Voiteur * 2014 : Perrigny and

Conliège Conliège () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Geography The Vallière flows north through the commune, in the steephead valley where lies the village. Population See also *Communes of the J ...

* 2015 :

* 2016 :

* 2017 : Not held * 2018 : L'Étoile * 2019 : Poligny * 2020 : Ruffey-sur-Seille * 2021 : Not held (

Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

) * 2022 : Cramans * 2023 : Voiteur

Chemical composition

Vin jaune is marked by the formation of

from alpha-ketobutyric acid.

Connection with Medieval Wines

Vin jaune has been found to be produced from grapes that possess identical DNA to grape seeds unearthed in archaeological digs of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

sites.

References

External links

La Percée du Vin Jaune
mainly in French {{wines French wine Wine styles Jura (department)