The appellation, named after the commune of the same name, is located in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the southwest of the region of Southwest France. It is largely congruent with the Béarn appellation and comprises 25 municipalities in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département. There was probably already winegrowing here 2,000 years ago, as Roman mosaics from that time suggest. As early as the 14th century, the vineyards of this area were defined as special vineyard sites (cru) by resolution of the Parliament of Navarre. Among other things, it was also forbidden at that time to import foreign wines. This can be seen as one of the first attempts at a classification or protected designation of origin. Incidentally, Jurançon was one of the first French areas to be classified as an AOC at the end of the 1930s. At the baptism of his son and later king and great wine lover Henry IV (1553-1610), the King of Navarre Anton of Bourbon (1518-1562) wetted his lips with wine from Jurançon and rubbed them with a clove of garlic to strengthen the newborn. This baptismal practice, known as the "Baptême Béarnais", was later maintained in the French royal family.
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Andreas Essl
Autor, Modena