Apremont Wine

I had the privilege of teaching English in a small French Alpine town 10 years ago.  While living there, I noticed that everyone drank a lot of white wine. Every dinner party, home dinner, ski lodge and grandma’s home served this light, crisp, floral, and delightful white wine.

It turns out that the region I lived in, Savoie, is famous for this white wine, Apremont. Simply put, no one really finds the need to drink much else.  Savoie is the heart of the French Alps and has pristine, snowy mountain tops, lush grasses dotted with wildflowers and the best skiing in the world.  Steven Jenkins, the cheesemonger who wrote “The Cheese Primer”, says “Savoie is so beautiful it hurts.” It is easy to see why the Savoyards have a contentment and find almost no need to drink anything from outside their region.

Apremont is made from the Jacquere grape.  This is indigenous to France and almost grows exclusively in Savoie.  The wine is known for having a touch of lemon and a layered minerality.  Some people compare it to Vinho Verde from Portugal when describing it’s light refreshing style.

But I cannot talk about Apremont from Savoie without discussing cheese.  Of course the other thing that the Alps are famous for is cheese!  The cows in the Alps can be breeds that are 10,000 years old.  Their milk is hearty, lush and considered the best in France.  The environment these cows live in is abundant with mineral rich grass, chamomile and clover that the cows feast on every day.  You can actually taste these floral notes in the cheese! The sweetness of the creamy, lush milk comes through in the aging of these cheeses such as Comte, Gruyere, Appenzeller, and Tomme de Savoie. 

The strange thing is that I would think that a complex cheese like these “should” be paired with a red wine.  But in Savoie, they drink it with Apremont.  It turns out that the pleasant acidity in the wine cuts through the fat of the cheese and clears the palate for the next bite.  It actually makes the cheese taste as if every bite is your first!  It’s a cool thing.  

So the next time you want to feel like you are in the middle of the Alps, come by and get some Apremont ($16.99/bottle) and 15 month Hand Selected Comte cheese ($18.99/lb).     

                                                                                                                                       - Jenny in Wine