The cellars of Château Béthanie
Our tun cellars hold nearly 4,500 hectolitres of Jura wine
The Fruitière Vinicole d’Arbois is above all an adventure involving men and women. At Château Béthanie the cooperative’s wine growers, cellar masters and oenologists work passionately and meticulously to offer you the authenticity and identity of outstanding wines – the wines of Arbois.
Our wine cellar is located on the former grounds of Château Béthanie. In addition, since 1993 we have had a Vin Jaune cellar that can hold 3,000 pièces, or barrels. This ranks us amongst the leading producers in the Jura of Savagnin sous voile (under a veil).
Most Savagnins are aged for several years without being topped up, and a veil, or film, of yeast forms on the surface of the wine. This practice known as sous voile is specific to the Jura terroir and imparts to the wine its aroma of dried fruit and spice. After 6 years of maturing slowly, the Savagnin is entitled to the appellation Vin Jaune.
Our foudre cellars house large wooden tuns (called foudres) holding close to 4,500 hectolitres of wine. The largest one (with a capacity of 160 hectolitres) has been holding wines in the process of maturing since 1906, when the Fruitière Vinicole d’Arbois wine cooperative was founded.
The Fruitière’s largest tun: 160 hectolitres!
Our Vin Jaune d’Arbois cellar with a capacity of 3,000 barrels
Cutting-edge equipment
We have equipped our wine cellar with state-of-the-art vinification facilities to guarantee that the wines we produce are of the highest quality:
– 10,000 hectolitres of temperature-controlled tanks
– 4 bladder presses
– 4 Vinimatic maceration vats for rosé and red wines
– 1 tangential filter
– 40- to 160-hectolitre tuns
– ageing capacity of 6,000 hectolitres
– 2 bottling and labelling and capsuling lines
– 10 gyropalettes for riddling bottles of crémant automatically
– a well-ventilated, dedicated room with a capacity of 30,000 kg
of grapes for making Vin de Paille
Our Bucher bladder presses
10,000 hectolitres of temperature-controlled tanks
Stainless steel tanks for the ageing of certain wines
The know-how of vintners of the Jura
Jura wines boast a vast range of aromas. Our work and our oenological leanings enable us to offer straightforward wines respectful of the terroir and of wine-lovers’ expectations.
At the Fruitière Vinicole d’Arbois:
• The rosés and the floral Chardonnays are fresh, lively, and “gulpable”
• The crémants are subtly sparkling and ethereal
• The reds are delicately fruity
• The blends and Savagnins are boldly typical and powerful
• The Vins Jaunes are complex and spicy and linger long on the palate
Our cellar for ageing Savagnin and Vin Jaune d’Arbois, one of the largest in the Jura