Jean-Francois Ganevat or ‘Fanfan’ as he is affectionately known is one of Jura’s most iconic and charismatic winemakers. A pretty big deal, Jean-Francois is heralded not just as one of the best vignerons in Jura but in the natural wine world full stop.
Jean-Francois comes from a long line of vignerons in Jura that dates back to the mid 17th century. Fascinatingly the family had supplemented grape growing with dairy endeavours until the mid-1970s.
He began by working alongside his father in the 1970s. Formal training at wine school followed and thereafter a stint in Burgundy with Domaine Marc Morey, before returning to take over the family business in 1998 where his legendary reputation has grown stronger with each passing year.
Jean-Francois embraces a biodynamic philosophy to manage vines that are more than 90 years old, in addition to sharply restricting the use of sulfur dioxide and releasing wines to the market unfined and unfiltered. The wines undergo an extended period on lees and he believes this provides sufficient protection for the wines, resulting in sulfur dioxide used in minuscule quantities only for the white wines and not at all for the reds. His meticulousness and attention to detail can't be beaten, and his unique knack for unlocking all the nuances of the terroir in his wine is genuinely awe-inspiring.
