WINK LORCH WINES OF THE FRENCHJURA ALPS WINESavoie, Bugey and beyond with local food and travel tips with local food and travel tips WINK LORCH SECTION HEADER WINES OF THE FRENCH ALPS 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 vineyard high above Lac de Bourget in Savoie. 3 WINES OF THE FRENCH ALPS SECTION HEADER Contents INTRODUCTION PART 3 PLACES AND PEOPLE – Author’s acknowledgements THE WINE PRODUCERS Savoie PART 1 SETTING THE SCENE Isère The wine regions in context Bugey A history of wine 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 terroir – geology, soil types and climate Grape varieties and the wines they make AND THE LOCAL FOOD Growing the grapes French Alpine cheeses Winemaking 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 Vintages 3 Abbreviations, conversions and pronunciations 4 Glossary Bibliography Index Kickstarter backers Image credits 4 JURA 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 Geneva) 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 Annecy and that of Savoie is Chambéry. near Nice. As can be seen from the map By far the greatest concentration of on the left, the wine regions covered in Savoie vineyards 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 Lyon Hautes-Alpes, around 150km from the and Geneva in the department of Ain, east Mediterranean as the crow flies. The most of its capital Bourg-en-Bresse. 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 Grenoble. 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 France, 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 Beaujolais 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 Alsace 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-Provence 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 Marseille. 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 Chignin vineyards in Savoie lie on the foothills of the Bauges, part of the Prealps; in the the Rhône-Alpes region. However, those background is the considerably higher Belledonne wine traders and wine lists that incorporate Alpine range of mountains. Harvest 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, Jongieux, 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 Allobroges 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.