Vin Jaune

Vin Jaune or vin de voile (‘veil wine’) is a unique white wine made in the Jura from Savagnin grapes. Harvested late, the grapes are aged in oak casks, but as the greedy angels take their share, the barrels are not topped up with more wine to make up for the evaporation, allowing a yeasty film or ‘veil’ to form on top of the wine over two or three years.

After six years and three months of careful watching, only 62 per cent of the original wine remains, having turned yellow and nutty. It is then bottled in clavelins—squat bottles that hold 62 cl, evoking the amount of wine lost to evaporation.

In late January/early February, winemakers release the aged wine in a festival called La Percée du Vin Jaune, which takes place in a different village or town every year, with a different theme.

They also make a Vin Jaune in Gaillac in the Tarn.