Vin jaune

It is similar to dry fino Sherry and gets its character from being matured in a barrel under a film of yeast, known as the voile, on the wine's surface.

The wine is made from the Savagnin grape, with some of the most premium examples coming from the marl based vineyards in the Château-Chalon AOC.

[1] Vin jaune is made from late harvest Savagnin grapes, a white variety in the Traminer family which is less aromatic than the better-known Gewürztraminer.

The grapes are usually harvested in late October when the sugars have developed enough to have a potential alcohol level of 13–15% for the finished wine.

While the voile is incomplete, the wine is exposed to slight levels of oxidation that provoke chemical changes, producing acetaldehyde (as well as ethanol, standard alcohol) and sotolon, an aroma compound.

[1] A festival called La Percée du Vin Jaune (Opening of the Yellow Wine) is held in the last week of January or the first week of February each year to celebrate release of the newly released vintage, which due to the legal requirements for aging will be the one harvested in the autumn seven years earlier.