Jurançon entered history with Henri IV, when in 1533, the future King of France was baptised with a drop of jurançon. An enchanting setting: close to Lourdes and Biarritz, nestling in sunny combs which are set in a green setting, surrounded by the terraces of the Château de Pau and the majestic Pyrenees mountain range, the Jurançon vineyard is the pleasure of the eyes before that of the palate.
The terroir, often very sloping, involves the exploitation of the vines on terraces and sometimes even in amphitheatres. The marine soils of the south and the land soils of the north give white wines which are the companions of seafood as well as foie gras.
Classified AOC since 1936 and being one of the first AOCs in France, Jurançon has a production area of more than 1000 ha located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques on 25 communes around Jurançon and Monein. The vineyards of Jurançon produce the AOC wines Jurançon doux, Jurançon sec but also Béarn rouge and rosé.
The Pays de Nay is about twenty kilometres from the leading producers in the Jurançon vineyards and the Jurançon winery. A visit to the winery, the leading Jurançon producer in Béarn, will enable all those who wish to do so to discover the facilities of the winery, from the grape harvest reception area to the ageing cellar and the presses.
For more information: www.cavedejurancon.com
The Vic-Bilh offers a wide variety of characterful vineyards: the most renowned are the AOC Madiran and the Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, followed by Béarn and the Vins de Pays des Pyrénées-Atlantiques. The Madiranese vineyard dates back to the 1st century BC. In the 11th century, the Benedictines founded the Madiran Abbey and improved the vineyard. Classified AOC since 1948, Madiran was the first appellation in France to impose quality control by issuing a label after analysis and tasting.
On the borders of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, the Hautes-Pyrénées and the Gers, the Madiran AOC merges with that of Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh. The surface area of the vineyard is approximately 1,600 ha, of which 1,400 ha produce Madiran.
The AOC Béarn is also present in Vic-Bilh. The vineyard benefits from a microclimate: mildness, hygrometry, south wind. The appellation produces as much rosé as red, but very little white. The Pays de Nay is 50 km from the leading producers of Vic-Bilh.