The Jura wine book project and first London trade tasting

For those not subscribed to the Jura blog, perhaps you have not yet seen my rather daring Kickstarter Project to crowd-fund my proposed book on the Jura wine region. With the little eastern France region going from strength to strength on export markets there is also news specifically for the wine trade in the UK, as next month Jura comes to London.

Jura Wine – The Book, a Kickstarter project
This year I am stuck into writing a book about the region, which I plan to self-publish next year, providing I achieve a certain level of funding. I’ve chosen to seek this through launching a project on the crowd-funding site Kickstarter.

The project has been live for nearly two weeks and continues until 22nd April. I have had tremendous support, especially from wine professionals worldwide, with 149 supporters as I write this. My target amount is £7,500 (so far 57% funded) and you can pledge any amount and receive awards for £8 upwards that will all merit you a thank you in the final book. For £25 you will receive the book next year when it’s published. If you are reading this from outside the UK, please do not worry that the figures are in UK pounds, you can pledge with any international credit card in the usual way.

If I do not reach the target amount, I will get nothing (and supporters pay nothing either) and in this case I will – eventually – publish the book as an e-book, but simply with very few photos and maps. If I do reach the target, not only will I be motivated to get on and complete writing of the book, but I will get this professionally edited and designed, and I will have funds to include brand new detailed maps and some commissioned photographs too.

Please support this by pledging money or sharing with friends and colleagues – there are many more details and explanations on the Kickstarter page:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/winklorch/jura-wine-the-book

The video for the Kickstarter page introduces the project and was made by my partner Brett Jones. A short section includes a few international wine blogger friends ‘pronouncing Jura’. This was cut from a longer version which you can take a look at here – I hope it brings a smile to your face. Once you have watched it and read the rest of this post, scroll to the bottom for Jura sommelier Christophe Menozzi pronouncing Jura correctly.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/-KV539Z0qes]

London Jura Trade Tasting – May 14th 2013
The first ever trade and press tasting for the Jura wine region will take place next month with 27 producers present, including some of the largest and some of the smallest. Around half of the producers work organically in their vineyards, and are either certified or en route to certification. Some of them already have wines present on the UK market, others are seeking importers. There will be a tremendous range of wines to taste.

I will be presenting a master-class at 10.30am and at 3pm during which I will introduce the wines of the region and present seven wines for tasting that will illustrate some of the myriad wine styles available. You must book places for this if you want to come as they are very limited.

There will be Jura food to try too with the presence of Borough Market’s The French Comté who will provide not only Comté but other local cheeses and sausages.

Take a look at the Imbibe diary entry for more details or contact Mandarin Communications direct for an invitation. I look forward to seeing you there.

Thanks for supporting me in my endeavour to share the wines of Jura with the world. Do keep checking my Jura blog for updated information. And here is Christophe Menozzi:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/yXGJA9LuQfQ]