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Home , Ain (river), Altesse, Bauges, Bresse, Bugey, Burgundy

WINK LORCH OF THE FRENCHJURA WINESavoie, and beyond with local food and travel tips with local food and travel tips

WINK LORCH SECTION HEADER

WINES OF THE BY WINK LORCH SAMPLE CONTENTS AND CHAPTER

Copyright © Wink Lorch 2017

Map: Quentin Sadler Photographs: Mick Rock (opposite, contents, 8 top and 11) and Brett Jones (page 8 bottom, 10, 12 and 13)

Due for publication: November 2017 Enquiries: [email protected] ©www.winetravelmedia.com COPYRIGHT WINES OF THE FRENCH ALPS

A secret Mondeuse high above Lac de Bourget in . 3 WINES OF THE FRENCH ALPS SECTION HEADER

Contents

INTRODUCTION PART 3 PLACES AND PEOPLE – Author’s acknowledgements THE PRODUCERS Savoie PART 1 SETTING THE SCENE Isère The wine regions in context Bugey A in Alpine areas Diois Movements and people that have influenced the wines today Hautes-Alpes The future for French Alpine wines and their producers PART 2 ALL ABOUT THE WINES The appellations PART 4 ENJOYING THE WINES The – geology, soil types and climate varieties and the wines they make AND THE LOCAL FOOD Growing the French Alpine Other food specialities Sparkling wines French Alpine liqueurs © COPYRIGHTVisiting the region

APPENDICES WINES OF THE FRENCH1 Essential rules for the wine appellations (AOC/AOP) ALPS 2 3 Abbreviations, conversions and pronunciations 4 Glossary

Bibliography Index Kickstarter backers Image credits 4 WINE

The wine regions in context

‘Savoie, Bugey and beyond’ was In wine terms (and in food and tourist never going to make a good book title, terms too), Savoie encompasses the hence the more flexible Wines of the two French departments of Savoie and French Alps, but even this has involved Haute-Savoie. One term that you will some tough decision-making on which read often in this book is Savoyard, which regions to include or exclude, and why. means of Savoie; it can apply to wine or Geographically, the French Alps begin other drinks, food, people or even the south of Lac Léman (Lake ) on local dialect. The administrative capital of the Swiss border and continue south until Haute-Savoie (literally Upper Savoie) is they disappear into the Mediterranean and that of Savoie is Chambéry. near . As can be seen from the map By far the greatest concentration of on the left, the wine regions covered in Savoie is within 35km of this book begin in the west with Bugey, Chambéry. which lies southwest of Geneva, and end with the areas of the Diois and The Bugey wine region lies between Hautes-Alpes, around 150km from the and Geneva in the department of , east Mediterranean as the crow flies. The most of its capital Bourg-en-. To the south © COPYRIGHTimportant wine region is Savoie, which of Savoie, Isère is a large department stretches from Thonon-les-Bains on Lac whose capital is . The department Léman to south of Chambéry. stretches into the northern Rhône Valley wine region, but for the purposes of this These Alpine regions are in the southern book, it is the scattered, mainly recently WINES OF THE FRENCHhalf of , south of the watershed, ALPSrevived, Alpine vineyard areas further east where rivers run into the Mediterranean, that are addressed. rather than the North Sea. They are close to the magic latitude of 45°N, on which so South of Grenoble, the Diois, which is many famous European wine regions lie. the regional term for the area around the town of Die, where Clairette de Die comes from, is in the Drôme department. And on roughly the same latitude over Left: The Alps stretch from south of Lac Léman the mountains to the east is the Hautes- towards the Mediterranean. The French Alpine Alpes wine region, which is in the wine regions lie south of the Jura and east of and the Rhône Valley wine regions, to department of the same name, south and the west of the Alps. east of its capital town, Gap.

6 7 WINES OF THE FRENCH ALPS THE WINE REGIONS IN CONTEXT

The Diois and Hautes-Alpes mark the The French Alpine beginning of the southern French Alps. vineyard regions Approaching either over a mountain pass from the north, one has a sense of The total planted vineyard area in these a Provençal character creeping in to mix Alpine regions is approximately 4,600ha; with the Alpine one. I decided that this for comparison, less than one-third of that latitude should be the southerly limit of for the region. From these vineyards, this book, as when you head further south, a few hundred producers make about 35 the Provençal flavours in both food and million bottles of wine, which is less than wine begin to dominate over the Alpine 0.5% of the wine produced in France. ones. Hence, the wines of the IGP Alpes In terms of vineyard area, the region is de Haute- and AOC Pierrevert, split is as follows: Savoie AOC: 46% along with the main Provençal appellations Bugey AOC: 10% stretching south to Nice, belong in a book Diois AOC: 35% on the wines of Provence, not on the IGPs of Savoie, Ain, Isère and French Alps. Hautes-Alpes combined: 9% The departments of Savoie, Haute-Savoie, In the mountains, the vine is often able to Ain, Isère and Drôme are all within the grow where no other crop can, and wine was wealthy and tourist-frequented French once hugely important nourishment for the political region of Rhône-Alpes, whose local mountain communities as well as a th regional capital is Lyon. Hautes-Alpes trading commodity. In the mid-19 century, is the northernmost and most remote when French vineyard plantings were at department of the PACA region – their peak, most of these regions had ten or Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur – whose more times as many plantings as today. capital is . These Alpine regions all share an important aspect – they lie on limestone- based slopes that form the foothills of the © COPYRIGHTmountains. These are the foothills of the Prealps – the lower-altitude mountain ranges that lie below the Alps themselves. In the case of Bugey and the western parts of Savoie, geographically the vineyards are WINES OF THE FRENCH ALPSon the slopes of the southern Jura Moun- tains which, geologically, are also termed as Prealps. Bugey has much more in common with Savoie than it does with Jura, sharing with Savoie many of its grape varieties, its modern vineyard evolution and wine styles, as well as, politically speaking, being part of The vineyards in Savoie lie on the foothills of the , part of the Prealps; in the the Rhône-Alpes region. However, those background is the considerably higher wine traders and wine lists that incorporate Alpine range of mountains. extends into Bugey into Savoie do a disservice to both. early October in most years for the later-ripening Covering such a substantial geographical varieties, Jacquère and Mondeuse. Winter snow tends to be short-lived. area, it is no surprise that there are many

8 9 SETTING THE SCENE THE WINE REGIONS IN CONTEXT

differences in climate, soil and aspect A snapshot of the wines are 16 cru names for wines from specific between these vineyard areas, but proximity Savoie and Bugey are by far the most geographical areas, the best known being to high mountains, the weather systems they important regions and the focus of this Apremont, Chignin, Chignin-Bergeron, create and the soils that they form provide book. Isère and Hautes-Alpes are included Arbin, Chautagne, , Crépy and the connection. Anyone who knows and too, because although both have tiny vine- Ayze. AOC Roussette de Savoie is for still loves mountains will tell you that not only yards today, they are of increasing interest white wines from the Altesse variety and is the scenery dramatic, but the weather is to lovers of unusual Alpine wines. The Diois may be followed by one of four crus, includ- too: high rainfall with a significant risk of is important in terms of quantity of wine ing Frangy and Marestel. About two-thirds storms, sometimes hailstorms; surprisingly of the still wines are whites. AOC Seyssel is strong sunshine and extreme changeability produced and, in my view, shares the Alpine characteristics, but three-quarters of its for still white wines and Méthode Tradition- at times. But mountain slopes can also offer nelle sparkling wines. Sparkling wines are protection from the worst of the storms and production is of Clairette de Die from one single producer, Jaillance. also made under the recent AOC Crémant provide rocky soils in which only the vine de Savoie, but currently less than 10% of can thrive. Other geographical influences Below are the main appellation and grape the total Savoie production is sparkling. The that are important here include broad names that appear on labels of wines of the IGP Vin des covers the depart- glacial valleys – with vineyards planted on French Alps; these should help you navigate ments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie plus the the southern slopes –and beautiful Alpine the rest of the book. Part 2 of the book commune of Seyssel in Ain, the wines often lakes, a feature of both Savoie and Hautes- covers in detail for each region the terroir, coming from historic vineyard areas not Alpes. The Rhône river is never far away, and the grapes and how they are grown, along covered by the Savoie AOC. many of its tributaries, including the Isère, with the wines and how they are made. Part the Drôme and the Durance, run close to 3 delves into each individual area and its Main Savoie grapes: For whites – Jacquère, the vineyards. wines, with profiles of the main producers. Altesse, Bergeron (a synonym for Rous- sanne), , Chasselas and Gringet. Domaine de Maupas is a rare individual vigneron Savoie appellations and wine styles: The in the AOC Châtillon-en-Diois. The vineyards are among the highest in France at around 600m regional appellation AOC Savoie covers The tasting room of Domaine Jean Vullien offers a altitude on the foothills of the Vercors mountains. white, red, and sparkling wines and there typical wide range of AOC Savoie wines.

©ALTITUDE: HOWCOPYRIGHT HIGH DO GRAPES GROW? The highest vineyards in the French Alps app on my phone in several different zones are not in Savoie, but in the Hautes-Alpes of Savoie and Bugey, I discovered that the (the name meansWINES the Upper Alps). This top of the vineyardOF slopes was THEoften about FRENCH ALPS is the only vineyard area that lies on the 400m. This altitude is similar to the Jura foothills of the Alps themselves rather than (where all the vineyards are between 250m the Prealps. Here there are a very few vine- and 450m), and indeed Alsace, and is only yards that touch 1,000m; the majority are slightly higher than the best vineyards of between 600m and 700m. In the Diois, the the Côte d’Or in . To write that vineyards stretch from 250m up to 700m, Savoie vineyards are particularly high alti- the highest being in the small still wine ap- tude is thus a myth. To write that they are pellation and village of Châtillon-en-Diois. in a mountain area, however, is completely In Savoie and Bugey there are very few correct and the mountain influence on the vineyards above 500m. Using the altimeter terroir is important.

10 11 SETTING THE SCENE THE WINE REGIONS IN CONTEXT

For reds – Mondeuse, , Isère appellations, wine styles and grapes: Coteaux de Die is a tiny regional appel- scattered vineyards of the department. A and Persan. There are many more, mainly The IGP Isère covers two main vineyard lation for Clairette still whites and AOC large variety of internationally known varie- rare and indigenous, varieties. zones, noted also on the label: Les Balmes Châtillon-en-Diois covers red, rosé and ties are grown, along with some rare indig- Dauphinoises and Les Coteaux du Gré- white still wines for that specific area. enous varieties, notably the red Mollard Bugey appellations and wine styles: The sivaudan. A large variety of grapes from grape. Mainly still wines of all three colours regional appellation AOC Bugey covers Hautes-Alpes appellation and grapes: Savoie, Burgundy and Rhône are grown, are made, along with some sparkling. white, red, rosé and sparkling wines with A single IGP Hautes-Alpes covers the along with several rare varieties, to produce three crus, the most important of which is mainly still wines of all three colours. Cerdon, restricted to Méthode Ancestrale rosé sparkling wines. AOC Roussette du The Diois appellations, wine styles and HOW TO GET THERE AND AROUND Bugey is for still white wines from the Altesse main grapes: Two sparkling AOCs cover The main air travel hubs for the French Alps A42 towards Lyon allows easier access variety with two crus. Over 60% of Bugey’s the whole area and represent more than 95% are Lyon in France, and Geneva in Swit- to the Bugey vineyards further south; the production is of (including of production: by far the largest is AOC zerland. There are also small airports with A41 runs from Geneva south to Annecy, Cerdon). About two-thirds of the still wines Clairette de Die, based on the Muscat Blanc international flights, mainly in the winter ski Chambéry, and then past some isolated are whites. The IGP Coteaux de l’Ain covers à Petits Grains grape, with some Aligoté season, in Grenoble and Chambéry. These Isère vineyards to Grenoble. Near Cham- mainly wines from historic vineyard areas and Clairette, made using the Méthode four cities, along with Bourg-en-Bresse (for béry, the A43 runs west to Lyon close to not covered by the Bugey AOC. Ancestrale; the second is AOC Crémant de Bugey), Annecy (for Savoie), Valence (for the other isolated Isère vineyards and east Die (Clairette, Aligoté and Muscat), made Main Bugey grapes: For whites – Chardon- the Diois) and Gap (for Hautes-Alpes) also towards , along the Combe de using the Méthode Traditionnelle. Within nay, Altesse and Aligoté. For reds – Gamay, have good train connections throughout Savoie valley, past some of the principal the AOC Clairette de Die there is a rosé Pinot Noir and Mondeuse. For Bugey France and internationally. Savoie vineyards. version (since 2017) made in the ancestral Cerdon – Gamay and . method, with some Gamay allowed, as If you want to visit these vineyards inde- The A7 or Autoroute du Soleil, a key pendently, then a car is essential, with French motorway for holidaymakers The landscape and buildings are almost Provençal well as a Brut version, based on Clairette in the Hautes-Alpes wine region, which lies in the and made in the . AOC snow tyres fitted for the winter months. travelling to the Mediterranean, goes past foothills of the Ecrins mountains. However, be aware that the extent of these Valence, from where main roads take French Alpine regions is more than 300km you southeast to the Diois vineyards. To driving distance north to south (Thonon visit the Hautes-Alpes from the north, the in Haute-Savoie to Gap in Hautes-Alpes), best way is from Grenoble, driving along and 100–150km west to east. With so the famous Route Napoléon main road. © COPYRIGHTmany scattered vineyard areas, even just The A51 motorway runs alongside the within the Savoie wine region, the driving Durance river from the south. distances between wine producers can be substantial. And, off the motorway, be WINES OF THE FRENCHprepared to drive on slow, twisty and some- ALPS times challenging mountain roads.

Bugey, Savoie and Isère wine regions are well served by motorways. On the A40, which runs from Mâcon to the tunnel at , you drive close to Bugey’s Cerdon vineyards; beyond you can exit for the various isolated Haute- Savoie vineyard areas. The A40 links to Most of the French Alps regions have some sort of various motorways running south: the wine route with signage in place.

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