What’s special about Swiss wine?
The majority of Switzerland’s wine is made in the French-speaking part of the country. The Rhône rises high in the Alps and transverses Valais, the largest wine region, before it flows into France. Immediately to the west is Vaux, hugging beautiful Lake Geneva and home to the steep UNESCO-listed Lavaux vineyards where all the work has to be done by hand. The emphasis across the country is very much on quality not quantity, and prices reflect this. The best value for introductory wines are to be found from co-operatives, which make wines with grapes bought from many growers and so can achieve economies of scale.
Main grapes
White chasselas, petite arvine, amigne, doral, heida (savagnin), chardonnay, sauvignon blanc
Red gamaret, garanoir, cornalin, galotta, pinot noir,…
