Wine from Savoie
Natural, Organic and Biodynamic Wines from Savoie
Altesse, Jacquère, Mondeuse from Savoie... These varietals are beautifully crafted by artisan winemakers such as Mathieu Apffel, Axel Domont, the Quenard family, or the Domaine des Côtes Rousses. The Savoie vineyard is supported by the mountains and valleys, allowing for a great variety of terroirs, grape varieties, and climates. The must-try wines of the region remain the dry white wines from Savoie, also found in the neighboring regions of Bugey and Isère.
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Everything You Need to Know About Savoie Wines
What characterizes a Savoie wine?
Who hasn’t tasted Savoie wines yet? Whether red or white, we’ve all tasted wines from magnificent terroirs. Once neglected, now adored by purists, Savoie wines are making a comeback thanks to winemakers who work to renew natural wine. Wineries like Jean-François Quénard, or even Gilles Berlioz, winemakers who believe in their lands and everything they offer.
The grape varieties of Savoie wines
The "Savoie wines" appellation covers four departments: Savoie, Haute-Savoie, Ain, and Isère, but only has three AOCs (controlled designations of origin): Savoie wines, Roussette de Savoie, and Seyssel. There are also neighboring regions of the French Alps, such as the Grésivaudan Valley and Bugey. These are regions that are making a return in the natural wine world thanks to passionate winemakers, who are bringing these lands back to life by creating real natural gems. The terroirs are exceptional due to their geographical location, with most vines planted between 250m and 500m in altitude. Sunny, hot days and cool nights – this is exactly what’s needed to harvest grapes of great quality. The grape varieties of Savoie wines are numerous and express themselves magnificently depending on the terroir and the winemaker’s work. For white wines from Savoie, there is Jacquère, Altesse, Roussanne, Gringet, Verdesse, Chardonnay, and Chasselas. For red wines from Savoie, the varieties are Mondeuse, Gamay, Persan, Douce Noire, Etraire de la Dhuy, and Pinot Noir.
A number of forgotten grape varieties have been replanted. They now benefit from good maturity, due to climate change, but also thanks to the diligent work of winemakers motivated to promote this beautiful terroir of the Savoyard vineyard.
Dry white wine, the star of Savoie
White wine from Savoie accounts for 70% of the Savoie vineyard on its own. Much more present than red wines from Savoie, the white varieties know how to express themselves through this mountainous landscape. For example, there’s the Jacquère that shines in the Cluse of Chambéry, Roussanne (or Bergeron) in the town of Chignin, Chasselas on the shores of Lake Geneva, and Gringet in the Arve Valley. This diversity of terroirs offers a great playground for winemakers, a place to fully express the flavors of these white grape varieties.
To best discover the expression of Jacquère, try "Avant la Tempête" by Mathieu Apffel, to explore the aromas of the Altesse variety, head to the cuvée "Ensemble" from Domaine des Côtes Rousses, aromatic and taut, everything we love at epi-curieux. Discover the talent of Jérémy Bricka and his Verdesse cuvée to understand the full complexity of this variety. These artisanal winemakers offer you the opportunity to travel through Savoie with all these unique natural wines. You’ll be reconciled with these Savoie white wines, leave behind the stereotypes and appreciate all this work.
What to pair with Savoie wines?
The team at Epi-curieux wants to tell you that natural wine is already perfect on its own. And drinking it alone means experiencing all the aromas of a grape variety, of a unique terroir. But to pair with a Savoie wine like Mondeuse, for example (try the one from Anne-Sophie and Jean-François Quénard, cuvée La Déroutante), you can prepare diots de Savoie with vegetables. Or start your meal with an appetizer with Jacquère from Axel Domont, Kilomètre 0, or fine fish. Savoie wines can be enjoyed on their own or with food, white or red, you’ll enjoy them at any time. Freshness, fruitiness, finesse, explosion of flavors, etc... At Epicurieux, we are convinced of the quality of these great terroirs and the expertise of these winemakers.
