White wines dominate the produce of these vineyards set amid the ski slopesof the French Alps. Sparkling wines are the specialty of Savoie, while Juracan boast the rare, sweet vins de paille and the amazingly long-lived vinsjaunes.
The Jura is dominated by the town of Arbois, a little alpine communityreigned over by Henri Maire. His infamous sparkling "Vin fou,"or "Mad Wine", has no appellation and comes in various cuvees,some are better than others, but many taste the same. Despite the lightheartedapproach to its consumption, "Vin Fou" has performed one admirablefunction; it has introduced drinkers to this district and its many betterwines. This could not have been achieved by the vins de paille and vinsjaunes, due to their scarcity and high price. The very sweet vin de pailleor "straw wine" is so called because the grapes were traditionallydried on straw mats to concentrate the juice into a syrup. The vin jauneor "yellow wine" derives its name from the color that resultsfrom its deliberate oxidation under a yeast flor when matured in casks thatare not topped up for six years.
The vineyards in the area between Lake Geneva and Grenoble, known as theSavoie, produce some dry some white wines and remarkable sparklingwines. Though shun by foreign wine merchants, there are some quality winesproduced here, clean and fresh like the mountains the grapes are grown on.
