An amateur wine group paid a record 57,000 euros ($77,000) for a 1773 bottle of "yellow" wine from France's eastern Jura region at a local wine festival auction Saturday. A sherry-like wine, the grapes were harvested under the reign of Louis XVI.

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AFP - An amateur wine group paid a record 57,000 euros ($77,000) Saturday for a 237-year-old bottle of wine from France's eastern Jura region at a local wine festival auction.

"Finally, yellow wine has hit the big leagues," said wine festival founder Bernard Badoz of Jura's trademark beverage.

"To sell a bottle for 57,000 euros is not crazy," he said of the 1773 bottle that came from a Louis XV-era vine and grapes harvested during the reign of Louis XVI.

Swiss aficionado Pierre Chevrier, who bought the bottle on behalf of an amateur wine group, did not appear stunned by the price.

"My passion is to open bottles and I am delighted to have bought this bottle of yellow wine, which I will drink," he said.

A type of sherry-like white wine, Jura's yellow wine gets its colour from its maturation in a barrel under a layer of yeast.

The wine festival at Arbois, in the Jura region, is also offering tastings of its 2004 vintage for the 50,000 people expected to attend this weekend.

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