IT WAS THE ENGLISH SCHOLAR George Saintsbury who wrote in his classic 1920 wine ledger "Notes on a Cellar-Book" that with wine, like books, he always tried to steer from the known to the unknown. It's a philosophy I have also tried to follow, from an undergraduate first discovering the world of wine to a fresh-faced wine merchant tasting my way around the classic vineyards of Europe to a moderately serious collector and columnist writing about the subject.

Of course we all have our favorites—châteaux and estates we return to year after year, safe in the knowledge that our winemaker of choice will once again produce a vintage to savor. But it's intriguing now and again to veer off the established paths and seek out wines that haven't yet found widespread appeal, wines that throw up an array of flavors and reignite the passion of discovery.

France's Jura region, nestled in the foothills of the Jura Mountains between Switzerland and Burgundy, is one of those roads less traveled. A series of villages headed by the alpine town of Arbois, the Jura has a landscape dominated by steep valleys and large areas of dense forest populated by spruce trees, which are used to smoke some of the region's culinary specialties—including smoked ham and sausages—and to case its creamy Mont d'Or cheese, also known as Vacherin du Haut-Doubs.

I first encountered these wines in the home of a Beaune importer, who after a long day of tastings appeared with a bottle of the region's most famous wine, Vin Jaune. With its deep, yellow color and nutty, smoky, almost sherried flavor, it was sublime—and a very good match with the region's other famous cheese, Comté.

Although tiny—there are only 2,100 hectares—the vineyards cover about the same area as Margaux in Bordeaux—there's a raft of wine styles to discover here. Thanks to wine writer Wink Lorch, we now have a digestible guide ("Jura Wine") to the region. The five main grape varieties grown in the Jura—Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Savagnin, Poulsard and Trousseau—produce five different styles: sparkling or Crémant, red and rose, white, Vin Jaune and Vin de Paille, a delightful sweet wine.