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Arbois is a town in the north of the Jura region of eastern France. The wine capital of Jura, it gives its name to the region's most-prolific appellation for red, white and rose wines – a title which also covers Jura's famous vin jaune and vin de paille.
The Arbois appellation was introduced in 1936 and covers 13 communes on the hills and valley slopes surrounding the town. One of these, a small village named Pupillin, is particularly known for the quality of its wines, which come from a patchwork of vineyards planted on south-facing, limestone-rich slopes. Wines from these sites are sold as Arbois-Pupillin.
Arbois wines are produced from around 2100 acres (850ha) of vineyards, planted with Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard (or Ploussard as it is known here), Pinot Noir and Trousseau. About 70% of Jura's red wines are produced under the Arbois name, along with about 30% of its whites.
Arbois wine covers a remarkable range of the wine color spectrum, to such an extent that the locals frequently use descriptors such as corail (coral) and rubis (ruby) in addition to red, white and rose. This diversity is due in large part to the fact that 'white' Arbois wines may be made from up to 20% red grapes – and vice-versa. Poulsard, the region's key red variety, is lightly pigmented and is used to control the final color of a 'rose' wine.
The terroir of Arbois is characterized by limestone and marlstone screes, along with sandy, sometimes clay-rich soils. The name Arbois comes from Celtic words meaning 'fertile soil' and is most likely a reference to the particularly rich alluvial soils surrounding the Cuisance river, which rises just to the east. The climate is continental, with warm summers and very cold winters – as might be expected at this slightly elevated altitude (1150ft/350m). The local vine training preference is for high trellising, to keep the vines safe from the ground frosts which regularly occur here in early fall. Savagnin grapes are particularly at risk from fall frost, as they remain on the vine until later in the season to achieve the high levels of ripeness required for the production of vin jaune.
The appellation and the town share their name with the Arbois grape variety of the central Loire Valley.
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