Owner and winemaker of his family estate in Jura: “Thirty years ago no one believed in Jura wines”.

The 18^th in Le Figaro Vin’s series brings us to the Jura, a growing force as a wine region, to meet Jean-François Ganevat, #33, who ranks among the most successful and respected natural winemakers in France. He creates his exquisite wines, which are increasingly prized and hard to get hold of, at Domaine Ganevat, in the hills of Rotalier.

Le Figaro Vin: How does it feel to be crowned a winemaking champion?

Jean-François Ganevat: That is always great news. It makes me blush, because I don’t make wine to win medals, but I am delighted by all the excitement around natural wine and by the fact that real aficionados are happy to drink ours. Thirty years ago no one believed in Jura as a wine region, and the great majority of our wines were sold in Franche-Comté. Today we sell wine in 63 countries!

Have you been training for long?

For 14 generations. I have been immersed in it since I was a little boy, and I don’t know how to do anything else.

Who is your mentor?

I have mentored myself. We were introduced to Pierre Overnoy’s wines as children, but when we tasted them, we didn’t understand them. I still remember his visit to our school, and we thought his wines tasted revolting! It was quite some time before I got it, and it was my encounter with Didier Barral, in Languedoc, that really opened my eyes.

Is wine a team sport?

Of course, because to get good grapes you have to work the land, and you need manpower to do that. The term “organic” is meaningless if everything is mechanised. You need an authentic terroir, a philosophy, and a know-how to impart.

What is the key to making a good wine? The terroir or the winemaker?

It’s a combination of things, but a winemaker must know how to get the best from his terroir.

To what do you owe your success?

To my ancestors, because we are lucky enough to come from a family that has always pampered its vines.

Is your family proud of you?

I hope so. My father died in 2018, and he had already taken in how much progress we had made with the estate, in relation to the vines as well as the wines. He would have been proud today. There is no standard instruction manual for the winemaker’s profession, you learn something new every day. After 40 years I still don’t know what I will be doing tomorrow.

Your favourite colour? 

I love the Jura reds. They have unbelievable drinkability and have really made a name for themselves.

Your favourite grape variety?

Savagnin for white wine and Poulsard for red.

Your favourite wine?

I really cannot answer that question because I am constantly being surprised.

Your favourite vintage?

2018, because the wines had real warmth, combined with high yields. Though when I tasted them as young wines, I found them thin and watery, with a sugary and not very aromatic aspect. A long period of maturation has produced an amazing patina and resonance.

If your wine was a person, who would it be?

The person who made it.

What are the best circumstances in which to taste your wine?

A wine should be tasted outside, and you should take your time over it. It should be drunk by people who are down-to-earth, because, as I always say, I want to make good wines, not grand wines.

Have you ever thought about chemically enhancing yourself, or your wine? 

The more time goes by, the better you get to know your vines. I don’t need anything else. You have to learn how to discover your wine, and the wine learns to discover itself.

Who is your strongest competition?

Fear of frost, that’s what makes us sweat every year, because we no longer have proper winters.

Which competition do you dread the most?

The month of April.

What is your greatest trophy?

Recognition, from those who didn’t necessarily believe in me when I started out. However, from the beginning, I have been making the wines that I want to drink myself.

What has been your most innovative strategy in the vineyard and in the cellar?

Trust. I pamper my wines, and then the less I interfere with them the better things turn out.

Who would be your ideal successor on the podium?

I pass the little I know on to young colleagues who are just becoming established, who represent the future. A good wine is a complex of overlapping details. I would love to pass on my passion to my son, but he is only ten!