SWISS WINES
One of the best kept secrets about Switzerland, for those people who have never visited it, is its great variety of quality wines. Switzerland has a rich tradition of producing wines dating back to the Roman era. In Real Estate “Location, Location, Location” is the axiom. In Switzerland when speaking of wine, it should read “Soil, Sun, Savoir Faire” with the understanding that good rainfall is a given. Not only does Switzerland have a wide variety of grapes -many not found anywhere else in the world- it has an incredible diversity of soils and terrains which are ideal for the production of fine & unique wines. The vineyards are immaculate and as is to be expected in Switzerland they are scenic & postcard perfect. The vineyards in the Canton of Vaud, called Waadt in German, are some of the most beautiful in the world.
Switzerland is a small country with limited space for planting grapes, it has lots of vineyards (many are small boutique vintners), the vineyards are frequently very steep & difficult to harvest, it is a high cost country, and the Swiss love their wines. As a result, Swiss wines tend to be pricey and only about 2% are exported. For most of us trying to find a wine merchant in Arizona carrying Swiss wines is virtually impossible. One of the fascinating laws in Switzerland is that every house is required to have a basement for protection in case of war. Needless to say, the cellars are ideal places to store wine. The Swiss do, and most of the bottles will have labels from local vintners.
There are six distinct wine growing regions in Switzerland: The Valais, Vaud, Geneva, Neuchâtel & the 3 Lakes, eastern Switzerland, and the Ticino. Each of the regions offer fine wines, be it an Oeil-de-Perdrix from Neuchâtel, a Blauburgunder from eastern Switzerland, a Merlot from the Ticino, a Gamay from Geneva, a Fendant from the Valais or an Aigle Les Murailles from the Canton of Vaud. I’m partial to wines from the Vaud region & to me Chasselas is synonymous with Swiss white wine. You can drink it as an aperitif, enjoy it with a good meal, and it’s a perfect drink to finish off the evening
For those of you wanting to learn more about Swiss wines, click on the highlighted links below. Some are from one of Switzerland’s best-known wine writers, Chandra Kurt, others from the largest wine dealer in Switzerland. Cheers!, Santé!, Proscht!, Cin cin!
Chandra Kurt: Wines from Geneva, Wines from the Grisons, Wines from the Ticino, Wines from the Valais, and Wines from Lavaux.
Coop Mondovino: Wines from Zürich (in German), Wines from the Ticino (in French), Wines from the Valais (in French), and Wines from the Valais (in German)
Checkout the videos by clicking on the highlighted links above.
One of the best kept secrets about Switzerland, for those people who have never visited it, is its great variety of quality wines. Switzerland has a rich tradition of producing wines dating back to the Roman era. In Real Estate “Location, Location, Location” is the axiom. In Switzerland when speaking of wine, it should read “Soil, Sun, Savoir Faire” with the understanding that good rainfall is a given. Not only does Switzerland have a wide variety of grapes -many not found anywhere else in the world- it has an incredible diversity of soils and terrains which are ideal for the production of fine & unique wines. The vineyards are immaculate and as is to be expected in Switzerland they are scenic & postcard perfect. The vineyards in the Canton of Vaud, called Waadt in German, are some of the most beautiful in the world.
Switzerland is a small country with limited space for planting grapes, it has lots of vineyards (many are small boutique vintners), the vineyards are frequently very steep & difficult to harvest, it is a high cost country, and the Swiss love their wines. As a result, Swiss wines tend to be pricey and only about 2% are exported. For most of us trying to find a wine merchant in Arizona carrying Swiss wines is virtually impossible. One of the fascinating laws in Switzerland is that every house is required to have a basement for protection in case of war. Needless to say, the cellars are ideal places to store wine. The Swiss do, and most of the bottles will have labels from local vintners.
There are six distinct wine growing regions in Switzerland: The Valais, Vaud, Geneva, Neuchâtel & the 3 Lakes, eastern Switzerland, and the Ticino. Each of the regions offer fine wines, be it an Oeil-de-Perdrix from Neuchâtel, a Blauburgunder from eastern Switzerland, a Merlot from the Ticino, a Gamay from Geneva, a Fendant from the Valais or an Aigle Les Murailles from the Canton of Vaud. I’m partial to wines from the Vaud region & to me Chasselas is synonymous with Swiss white wine. You can drink it as an aperitif, enjoy it with a good meal, and it’s a perfect drink to finish off the evening
For those of you wanting to learn more about Swiss wines, click on the highlighted links below. Some are from one of Switzerland’s best-known wine writers, Chandra Kurt, others from the largest wine dealer in Switzerland. Cheers!, Santé!, Proscht!, Cin cin!
Chandra Kurt: Wines from Geneva, Wines from the Grisons, Wines from the Ticino, Wines from the Valais, and Wines from Lavaux.
Coop Mondovino: Wines from Zürich (in German), Wines from the Ticino (in French), Wines from the Valais (in French), and Wines from the Valais (in German)
Checkout the videos by clicking on the highlighted links above.
