Bulles Lentes

French winemaker patiently crafts slow bubbles in Southern Oregon

By Paula Bandy

The shortest path isn’t always straight. Jean-Michel Jussiaume’s wine journey began in the family’s Loire Valley vineyard, took him to South Africa and Australia, before concluding in the hills of Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley. His travels traced not only geography but led him to develop patience for the joy of hands-on winemaking.

Jussiaume comes from a Muscadet-producing family. He grew up working in the cellar and among the vines; pasting labels on bottles using egg whites, helping during harvest and experiencing the communal, celebratory culture of the Loire’s guinguettes- seasonal gatherings where wine, food and music flowed together.
Familiar with both Old and New World styles, he understands the tension between tradition and innovation. In 2005, Jussiaume spent time in Virginia and in the Finger Lakes region of New York. As he worked with more American wine, he discovered something that changed his direction. “I found I really enjoyed that Oregon wine, so I decided this would be the place for me.”

At the time, Oregon wine was in an active yet formative stage. For Jussiaume, the idea of joining something still in motion with an opportunity to shape it felt more compelling than stepping into a fully built machine. In 2008, he landed an interview with a Willamette Valley winery. They liked Jussiaume, but what happened next would define his next two decades. Instead of hiring him, they recommended Jussiaume to a friend in Southern Oregon– Rob Wallace, owner of Del Rio Vineyard Estate.

“I was very, very hesitant,” Jussiaume remembers. “It was one of those hundred-degree days, we’re on the highway, surrounded by dry lands and I asked myself, ‘where are the grapes?’ Everything changed when we drove into the vineyard. I thought, ‘I can live here.’ It’s beautiful, totally majestic. I fell in love with the place, vineyards, the scenic aspect of Del Rio. It’s just gorgeous, the historic factor of it, and its location, everything…It is quintessential Southern Oregon, for sure.”

Seventeen years later, he remains the winemaker for all three wine brands: Jolee, Rock Point and Del Rio. Alongside that role, Jussiaume built his own label, Maison Jussiaume, an expression of his name, his pace, his standards.

BUILDING HIS OWN VISION

Maison Jussiaume only uses grapes, harvested from selected blocks at the Del Rio estate. The older vines, wide diurnal temperature swings and well-drained soils called out to him. “The vineyard was telling me what to do,” he shares. It commanded sparkling, rather than still wine.

Jussiaume committed to the “méthode traditionnelle,” not because he wanted to reproduce Champagne but rather to craft the most honest representation of fruit and terroir.

Maison Jussiaume is small by design. Jussiaume presses the grapes slowly, bottles carefully, and turns each bottle by hand during the riddling phase. Even disgorging is done by hand. He describes the work as a “one man show” crafting “no rush” wines. His wines age three years or more before release. Patience, extended aging, low-to-no dosage– Jussiaume performs everything by hand, treating each bottle as a work of art.

“I strive for my wine to be approachable, with freshness, elegance and finesse in every bottle,” Jussiaume explains. In an era of scale, his wines exist by choice. They aren’t built to dominate but rather designed to unfold.

WINE IS HIS ANSWER

The grapes destined for Maison Jussiaume must also be handled differently. Jussiaume picks early, preserving natural acidity with lower Brix (grape sugar levels), resulting in brighter sparkling wine. That high natural acidity is “vital for the structure and freshness of the finished wine,” he asserts, while maintaining a fruit-driven style.

Since the first vintage was released, Maison Jussiaume has earned 90–99-point scores, along with Double-Gold, Best in Class and Best in Show awards.

Jussiaume, modest about these recognitions, focuses on the work: steady, detailed, patient.

People often ask him to define Rogue Valley terroir in tasting note form. His answer is direct, and revealing. “I’m terrible at using English words to describe it all bit I can make wine, which holds my answer. My description of the place is in the sparkling wine I produce. It is the best description in a stylized way.”

Alongside Maison Jussiaume’s Brut Blanc de Blancs and Oeil de Perdrix Rosé, you’ll now find the black label zero-dosage Brut NATURE Blanc de Blancs. Brut is the driest category of traditional sparkling wine and the Brut NATURE has no added sugar to round the edges, soften the angles or shift the balance. The wine is extremely dry and terroir-driven, with absolute transparency.

Jussiaume notes, “This wine is a reflection of the grape, and to do that you need perfect fruit. I’m proud to say it’s made in the Rogue Valley and is the purest expression of the place. For me, it’s the best way to showcase the vineyard.”

The style has deep roots. Brut Nature is well-known in France. “Every vintner is proud of their Maison and wants to showcase its unique characteristics. I’m doing the same here. Brut Nature should be a perfect representation of fruit and terroir, so you need fruit perfectly suited for sparkling wine. I’m proud my Brut NATURE is crafted in the Rogue Valley and for me, it’s the best way to illustrate the fruit, terroir, vintage and vintner.”

Making Brut Nature demands expertise, and more than that, restraint. Jussiaume explains, “It requires more technical ability because you must embrace the existing natural flavor profile, rather than forcing it into some standard form. There must be absolute precision and balance, and that requires a deep and intuitive understanding of the specific fruit, terroir and vintage, or it won’t become a beautiful wine.”

CONVERGENCE

Jussiaume brought Loire traditions to the Rogue Valley, teaching us that terroir can be a convergence of heritage, vision and site. His story is one of roots and reinvention, wedded to celebration. An insistence on artisan methods in a high-tech era leads to slow, thoughtful perfection. It’s the work of one winemaker willing to let time be an ingredient.

Maison Jussiaume is not merely a sparkling wine label. The next time you open a bottle, beyond bubbles, you’re tasting a place, a discipline, a legacy– from vineyard, to bottle, to glass.

Maison Jussiaume
maisonjussiaume.com
maisonjussiaume.com/wineshops

Paula Bandy and her dachshund, Copperiño, are often seen at Rogue Valley’s finest wineries, working to solve the world’s problems. She has covered wine, lifestyle, food and home in numerous publications and academic work in national and international journals. For a decade she was an essayist/on-air commentator and writer for Jefferson Public Radio, Southern Oregon University’s NPR affiliate. Most recently she penned The Wine Stream, a bi-weekly wine column for the Rogue Valley Times. Paula believes wine, like beauty, can save the world. She’s also a Certified Sherry Wine Specialist and currently sits on the Board for Rogue Valley Vintners. @_paulabandy