Dom. de Montbourgeau Cremant du Jura

The Wine... Domaine Montbourgeau grow the fruit for this bubbly in the clay-limestone soils near Etoile. This sub-region of the Jura is one of France's oldest appellations (established in 1937) and most distinct terroirs. The Montbourgeau estate was founded in 1920 by Victor Gros. Today his granddaughter Nicole runs this small (eight hectare) estate. She works with a dedication to the traditional wine style of her homeland, and a respect for nature. Herbicides and other chemical treatments are avoided in favor of honest labor and natural solutions to vineyard problems. All the fruit for this wine is harvested by hand.

The Land... The Jura forms the eastern ridge of a graben, a geologic rift running from the North sea to the Mediterranean. In this sense it mirrors the region of Burgundy to the west: there are vinous similarities, too. Both regions do well with the Chardonnay grape, though in the Jura fruit is often less in the foreground, leaving space for a stark, mineral and earth austerity. Burgundy and the Jura both grow grapes that can make good sparkling wine; acid levels are close enough to the norm in northern French benchmark wines from Champagne to make for credible comparisons.

Sparkling Wine... There are many wines to make wine bubble. A common method was developed in Champagne that today is modeled in many regions, including Jura. A still wine is made, then bottled under a crown cap (beer cap) with a small amount of yeast and a dosage of a sugar-containing liquid, sometimes unfermented grape must. A second fermentation occurs and the resulting carbon dioxide remains in a meta-stable state.