Like everyone else I am relying on armchair travel these days. So, I could not be more excited to offer up the opportunity for a virtual wine tasting with French winemaker this Saturday, December 5, but also recorded to watch at your leisure. Stéphane Tissot of Domaine Tissot will walk us through his intriguing region of the Jura. Email me at sarah@edmundsoast.com to learn more.
Stéphane and his wife Bénédicte are true leaders in the Jura, a lesser known Alpine region of France. The Jura is due east of the iconic Burgundy region and shares a similar climate and geology and even some grapes. But while Burgundy has prospered into one of the most sought after and expensive wine regions in the world the Jura still remains virtually hidden except to supreme wine nerds.
The Jura was in fact a booming region in the early 19th century with over 20,000 hectares under vine. But it fell prey to the same devastating events as most European wine regions over the next 100 years: the lethal vine disease known as phylloxera and two world wars. By the mid 20th century there were only 800 hectares under vine!
Thankfully, the latter half of the 20th century became a time of rebuilding (albeit on a much smaller scale). André and Mireille, Stéphane’s parents, started the domaine in 1962, and his first vintage was in 1989 at the age of nineteen. Despite his youth (or perhaps because of it) Stéphane revolutionized his family’s approach to the vineyards and winemaking. He gradually converted to organic and eventually biodynamic viticulture and stopped adding commercial yeasts to start fermentation. Today, they use little sulfur dioxide (winemaker’s preservative so to speak) and allow the land to speak for itself.
Stéphane and Bénédicte make a wide array of wines, from sparkling made according to the Champagne method to dry whites and reds to unique styles of the region like Vin Jaune and Vin de Paille. Grapes range from native varieties like Trousseau and Poulsard (both red) and Savagnin (white) to the revered transplants from Burgundy, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
In our tasting we will discuss the full range of Tissot wines and learn about the terroir of the Jura that makes it such a magical wine region. We are offering 20% off any of the Tissot wines, and yes, we do ship!
There has been much talk this holiday season of smaller gatherings allowing us to do exactly as we please and not pander to the tastes of extended family and friends. I believe that an exploration of Jura wines could be just what the doctor ordered for this year’s holiday table -- charismatic wines that tell a story and open our minds beyond the status quo!
Domaine Tissot Lineup:
20% off any of these!
Indigene Cremant $43 → $34.40
(unique bubbly from 4 Jura grapes! nutty, sherry like quality to it!)
Blanc de Noirs Cremant $42 → $33.60
(bubbly from Pinot Noir!)
Rose Massale Chardonnay 2018 $81 → $64.80
(not rosé but pink mutation of Chardonnay; absolutely amazing!)
En Barberon Pinot Noir 2015 $64 → $51.20
(earthy, smoky Pinot)
Trousseau Amphora 2018 $81 → $64.80
(red fruit & earth; our fave native grape of Jura, aged in clay...yes please!)
Vin de Paille 2014 $64 → $51.20 (half bottle) (extremely limited)
(traditional, sweet white wine; perfect with cheese!)