Tel.: +33 (0)4 79 81 41 05 . Fax : +33 (0)4 79 81 41 02 . E-mail : ccbbb@wanadoo.fr
Wines and Spirits
« To claim that you don't need to change wines is a heresy; the tongue gets saturated with flavours, and after the third glass even the best wine only gives a dull impression ».
BRILLAT-SAVARIN
The vineyards of the Bugey area
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The vineyards of the Bugey area were already much appreciated during the Gallo-Roman period. But they didn't really start developing until monachism took hold in the 11th and 12th centuries. When it was at its largest, from 1820 until phylloxera struck in the 1870s, the Bugey vineyards covered an area of up to 14,000 hectares. Today, the surface area is much smaller (about 600 hectares) but the wine production is still very varied, depending on the different types of vineyard soil and different grape varieties : |
 Photo credit : Comité Départemental du Tourisme de l'Ain (Ain Departmental Tourist Board) |
Photograph courtesy of the Ain Departmental Tourist Board
for the white wines, we enjoy Bugey productions from the following grape varieties: Chardonnay, Altesse or Roussette, Molette, Jacquère, Pinot gris and Mondeuse blanche or normal Mondeuse,
for the red wines, we enjoy those made from the following grape varieties, amongst others: Gamay, Pinot noir, Mondeuse, Poulsard or Mescle.
You will find further information about the grape varieties, the different types of vineyards, the wine-making processes, the producers and everything relating to vines and wine on the web site of the Bugey Wines Syndicate, at the following address :
http://www.vinsdubugey.net
« Put a hearty meal in front of a tired man and he will eat it laboriously and perhaps feel a bit better. Give him a glass of wine or spirits and he will immediately get back to being on form: you will see him come back to life before your very eyes. »
BRILLAT-SAVARIN
The Kario distillery
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The order of the Frères de la Sainte-Famille (Brothers of the Holy Family), founded in the middle of the 19th century in Belley, produce drinks with beneficial effects, containing a well thought-out mixture of alpine plants, many of them rare, since the beginning of the 20th century. For 35 years, Brother Henri-Marie, a distinguished botanist, travelled throughout the mountains of Savoie and Dauphiné in order to collect plants and try to discover their properties. In 1900, when he was living the Stella Community (in Italy), he developed the recipe for his first invention, a digestive drink called Stellina. Kylon was invented a little while later, in 1905, and is still made from the same recipe. It is made by macerating plants, and contains the natural extracts of 32 different plants, together with 23% of alcohol and cane sugar. People enjoy it and find it to be good both as an aperitif and as a digestive. To organize your visit, please note the contact details for the distillery : 44, rue Sainte-Marie 01300 BELLEY, FRANCE |
The Kario Distillery currently welcomes people from all over Europe to come and see their plant, free of charge.
At the end of the visit, you will have a free tasting of Kario, yellow or green Stellina, or Marc (brandy) from Bugey. |
The wine-making traditions museum in Vongnes
The wine-making traditions museum has been set up since 1993 in a building adjoining the Caveau Bugiste (Bugey Wine-Cellar) in Vongnes. It enables you to learn about all the stages of wine-production and takes you back into the olden days of wine production, particularly by means of an exhibition of more than 1300 old tools and other objects associated with wine production.
A slide show with commentaries in 8 different languages (French, English, German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, Russian and Italian) presents the significant features of the Bugey vines.
The Museum and the slide show are accessible every day from 9 am to 12 noon and from 2 pm to 7 pm. For organized groups, we recommend that you make an appointment by telephone: +33 (0)4 79 87 92 32 (except on Sundays).
As we draw this page on wines and spirits to a close, we would like to recommend that you keep your consumption at a reasonable level, by quoting our famous Brillat-Savarin again :
« Those who get indigestion or get drunk don't know how to eat and drink »
