APLE Excursions: Into the Jura massif

Today we left Bourgogne for the relative wilds of the mountainous Jura region that looks like Vermont and the town of Arbois. In Burgundy wine rules; here they can't compete with the wine elsewhere so they're fanatical about other products, particularly cheese. I think the cheese makers essentially are govt subsidized civil servants who happen to make cheese the old fashioned wBut never mind, it's delicious and maintains the traditions. At. We visited a Comte cheese museum and tasting; only Montelbriand cows' raw milk can be used, and each cheese is different depending on the season, the flowers ingested, etc. We loved the cheese which I doubt can be bought at home because it's unpasteurized. Which is ironic because Louis Pasteur was born in Arbois! The brown and white cows graze all over the steep hills. Arbois also houses Hilsinger, a famous chocolatier/patisserie where I bought the most beautiful chocolate mousse/caramel/cookie tart decorated like a red hat.

After lunch and pastry we visited a small family winery making traditional Jura wines. They're very dry, not too appealing to our palates more used to Syrah and pinot wines. They make one that tastes like sherry, which our French bus driver liked but the rest of us found slightly awful except with the rest of the Comte cheese we brought along. But then our friendly young vintner Philippe brought out the dessert wine - it looked like gold and tasted like honey. I was entranced, especially when the price was less than half what I thought. So I have a bottle of Jura gold that may or may not survive the trip.

Then we drove on the Belcour, our hotel, postcard writing and a nice dinner in the hotel. I'll add some pics now. Tomorrow is a wine festival and we cross into France's Black Forest region in Alsace. Bon nuit!