It started off with a chicken with morels, Vin jaune and cream over rice. I poured a small glass of the Vin Jaune Henri Mairie 2008, and liked it. Faintly oxidative but a little vestigial fruit, nuts and honey. Long finish.
But what an amazing addition to the chicken. It did not stop there, adding layers of flavor to Kung Pao chicken, lentil soup with Iberico ham and my breakfast fried rice dish (bacon eggs, onions and mushrooms). I no longer have Sherry near the oil in the kitchen, too simple. I love the extra complexity the VJ brings to the dish.
I am a true Vin Jaune enthusiast. Ever since the first sip, I was sold on this deeply layered, oxidative, nutty and somehow balanced experienced. The story behind the Clavelin also gives it a little whimsy every time I uncork a bottle. Iāve had āpoulet au vin jauneā and ālapin au vin jauneā a few times always thinking it was good. Good enough to pour the Vin Jaune in the Creuset instead of my glassā¦ no.
But if you can use it as cooking wine, good on you. Just donāt let me near the oil in your kitchen. the VJ will be gone.
Kung pao chicken requires the use of shaoxing wine which has a similar oxidative flavour profile to vin jaune. Iāve read recipes where either dry sherry or vin jaune are used as substitutes if shaoxing is not available.
Mark - have you found any that are economical for cooking? I also love the Morels and Vin Jaune combo, but it was painful using an expensive bottle. In my part of NC the cheapest I found was like $25 for a half bottle, fwiw
Arenāt there some oxidative (āsous voileā) styles of CĆ“tes de Jura that one could buy. I donāt know these styles well (though have loved the few Vin Jaune & Chateau Chalon wines Iāve tried), but Iām guessing that these would offer some of the characters of Vin Jaune but at a much more cooking friendly price?
Probably lots of them but specifically all of the white wines of Domaine de Montbourgeau are oxidative, and delicious. Many manzanilla pasada Sherries would probably work as well for much less coin.
Old vin jaune with chestnut soup is a sublime combination. Give me Macle or Chateau Chalon. Plus make them older too! Oxidative wines require the right kinds of food. There are some amazing chicken recipes with vin jaune. It is one of the best cooking wines. Very expensive for that however.
I am having trouble wrapping my head around what subbing vin jaune for shaoxing rice wine would taste like, but it is not whetting the appetite. No reason for it anyway - they have shaoxing rice wine on Amazon Prime these days!
Yes there is. You can find āsous voileā wines in the 1-6+ years range, and with less time āsous voileā comes less risk, which influence the price a lot.
On another note, then the only real way to enjoy Vin Jaune, is with 24-36 month Comte cheese
Vin jaune works marvelsā¦ but there are much cheaper alternative in Jura some cheap savagnin with oxidation can be found for around 10 euros or even less.
A guy from Jura sells some wine called āLe Morilleur Delices des Chamoisā at a market close to our place in Provence for even less money and the name of the wine is fit for purposeā¦ Obviously, another Jura dish is Truite (trout) au vin Jauneā¦ awesome and a treat in restaurants in Juraā¦ especially if you get wild troutā¦
I think it is interesting as a group, there are people who spend hundreds sometimes more on a bottle, and most people purchase wine that costs a minimum of twenty to thirty dollars. It seems strange that here we are looking for cheaper alternatives to Vin Jaune that are almost as good to add to our food and make the dish really special. The half bottle was around $30, and I will probably get six portions or so, so $5 each. To give that much extra oomph to chicken with morels for instance, in relative terms, $5 seems a small price to pay.
I would not have thought of trout and itās the first time Iāve heard of this recipe. Mind you, the last time I was in Jura, I think I was 8 years old. Thank you! Iāll have to try this. I also assume it takes a lot less vin jaune than the traditional recipe for chicken or rabbit!
The most perfect pairing with Vin Jaune and/or Chateau Chalon for me had been the Coq-au-Vin-Jaune once at the recently-closed (Covid19 casualty?) and excellent wine-industry restaurant La Balance Mets et Vins in Arbois and the same dish with lunch at a bistro in beautiful Baume-les-Messieurs just outside Chateau Chalon. Simply memorable and had proven to be very hard to get the same dish level anywhere else outside of the region.
Looking to cook some morels with Vin Jauneābut donāt want to break the bank on a cooking wine. Any recommendations of something under $100? Thanks.
Find a 75cl bottle that has spent 4+ years sous voile. Will probably do the job at 1/3 of the price.
Else if it has to be a Vin Jaune and the entire bottle is going into the food, then a Rolet or something in the cheaper end. I am not based in the US, so not sure whats available.
