Jurançon () is a
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
region in
South West France in the foothills of the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
, around the
''commune'' of
Jurançon. It produces a dry white wine and a more sought after sweet white wine. The grape varieties used are
Gros Manseng,
Petit Manseng and
Courbu. The sweet wines develop aromas of tropical fruit such as pineapple and mango. The vines are grown on steep mountain slopes and for the sweet wines the grapes are often hand selected well into October and November to ensure the best
noble rot characteristics - although Tim Wildman MW states that noble rot is not the origin of sweetness in these wines.
Cultural references and marketing
The white wine varieties of Manseng were a favorite of the
French poet
Colette
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known as Colette or Colette Willy, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a Mime artist, mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaki ...
who called the wine ''séduction du vert galant'' and was quoted ''"I was a girl when I met this prince; aroused, imperious, treacherous, as all great seducers are."'' Winemakers in Jurançon picked up on this endorsement and began touting the wines (reputed) ''
viril'' and ''puissant'' qualities in sales brochures and with posters that advertise ''"Manseng means Jurançon means
Sex"''.
[J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 236 Mitchell Beazley 1986 ]
See also
*
List of Vins de Primeur
*
Arrouya noir, a red grape variety grown in the AOC zone though not permitted for the white wines of the regions
References
External links
Vins Jurancon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurancon
South West France AOCs