2011 vintage: warm, deep cherry and plum notes await us after unusual year

Expect to hear more from these wine producers, whose marketing campaign is being backed by dynamic changes in the vineyards (posters displayed during a tasting session on Lake Geneva in October)

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Good news arrived from France Monday, that 2011 wines from the Rhone Valley, after initial tastings, show wonderful promise.

Grapes harvested at optimal ripeness are giving wines marked by fruitiness and warmth, with plum and deep cherry notes, verging on the over-ripe, according to the Inter-Rhône growers association.

The wines stand in strong contrast to the 2010 vintage and recall 2009, a very good year.

It was a year that could have been a disaster, as in Switzerland: “a summery spring, a spring-like summer and a perfect autumn”, the group notes. I’ll wait until winter to taste them, when they are closer to what we’ll find on our tables, but when I recently tasted a series of these wines, including several 2010s, I liked a good number of them.

A long ribbon of vineyards running from south of Lyons to Avignon

Côtes du Rhône, literally the “banks of the Rhone”, is a beautiful wine area, the continuation of a broad ribbon of vineyards that starts in Switzerland’s upper Valais region, threading its way through the length of Valais, Vaud and finally Geneva before reaching France.

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Lavaux and Lake Geneva, Europe's largest lake, created by the great river that starts as a trickle from the Rhone glacier high in the Alps in Valais; the lake empties out near Geneva and the river heads south, creating a mix of conditions for France's famous and varied Rhone Valley wines. Producers from the Côtes du Rhone wines region in France, in October, presented their wines during a boat trip on the lake, a handshake with fellow winemakers to their north.

Swiss wines and their great neighbours, the wines of France’s Côtes du Rhône region, have some  similarities but the differences underscore the reasons for variety in wines, which in the end is what keeps us all so interested in the stuff.

The Rhone river is the first clue, for even in Switzerland the wines to which it gives birth vary hugely, wines that express their terroir particularly well, from the Petite Arvines and Cornalins of Valais to Vaud’s Chasselas and Geneva’s Gamays.

The start of the Côtes du Rhône wine region is Vienne, just south of Lyons, 180 km from Geneva via the autoroute. It ends far south, in Avignon, near the Mediterranean, running through 171 communes and six administrative departments: Ardèche, Drôme, Gard, Loire, Rhône and Vaucluse.

Weekend wine discovery trips from the Lake Geneva region are easy

It  provides some beautiful wines, such as the much-touted Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie and Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. It is also home to many very good to good wines at moderate prices. They are available in Swiss shops and, for those who long to combine wine-tasting and a weekend jaunt, not too far from home, the Côte du Rhone region is perfect, a short drive to a region where wine tourism is booming. The Vins-Rhone web site is a good starting point; I’ll be doing some touring there in coming weeks and will write more on this aspect of discovering the wines.

Where to begin: the grapes, the geography

Michel Chapoutier

Côtes du Rhône wines have suffered somewhat on world markets in recent years by the growth in New World wines. They don’t have the sexiness of Bordeaux wines with exotic prices nor do most have the noble titles of many Burgundies. The size and number of appellations can be daunting and, as elsewhere, the wines range from the mediocre to the great.

Red wines dominate here, 91 percent of the production, but there are some fine whites and roses, not to be overlooked if you’re on a discovery trip.

Getting a handle on these wines isn’t always easy for consumers outside France, but it’s worth the trouble, and the region itself is working hard to make it easier for us, with some success. One statistic that backs up the promising changes seen in the vineyards is that 16 percent of the region’s winemakers are under age 35, a figure well above the national average in France.

Two main varieties, many blends

To start, think of just two main grape varieties, Grenache and Syrah, although a third, Mourvèdre, is also considered a main variety. The region is the cradle of Syrah, which has become known as an international variety, probably the 7th most widely grown grape in the world.

Several other varieties are grown as secondary grapes, mainly to contribute to blends made with these two: 22 varieties officially, but many of them in small quantities. Michel Chapoutier, one of the region’s best-known winemakers, noted for his passion for terroir-strong wines, says “Why just three grapes, when the Swiss have so many? Like a chef, a good oenologist can cook up wonderful blends! Growers here have long planted the grape varieties they know grow best.”

Chapoutier points out that growers learned from the diseases that struck the vineyards in the 18th century and a later over-use of fertilizers. “If we have a good bacteriology of the soil we can have just as much complexity in our wine offerings as with many grape varieties.”

Lavaux harvest; the same river feeds the two regions, but they are home to different grape varieties

Chapoutier was speaking to a group of sommeliers, wine wholesalers and retailers, and journalists during a day out on Lake Geneva to taste Côtes du Rhône wines (my tasting notes will follow this article).

It was an invitation too good to turn down, since one of the first labels I discovered and explored in France when I moved there from the US several years ago was Côtes du Rhône Villages.

I was ready to move on from dirt-cheap and very strong North African wines proposed by my student friends, the kind that left you with purple lips (blessedly, a short phase in my wine-drinking career).

A French friend suggested that Côtes du Rhône Villages wines, a step up from plain ordinary Côtes du Rhônes, was a good entry into the confusing world of appellations and French wine labels.

Côtes du Rhône reds, warm and rich

Before trying to understand the appellation system, however, take a look at the geography of the Rhone Valley.

In the north, the river is still reeling from its heady rush through the rocky Alps, and granite is a feature of this landscape, very old rock fractured by the Alps, with a soil that holds various minerals. The vines are mainly on the right bank as the river heads south, with the notable exceptions of Hermitage and Croze-Hermitage, where pebbly soil is a feature that adds interest to the granite base.

Further south, the landscape and the soil change significantly. It’s softer here, pebbly soil gives way to sandier soils with loess (windblown sediment) deposited in part by the Mediterranean mistral winds. The mistral, the result of different pressure systems between the north, next to the Alps, and the south, near the sea, can be violent, but growers here appreciate the positive impact it has on their vines.

And in between is a wealth of varied pebbly dry soils that shift as the rivers turns and winds its way south.

From north to south, this is a land of marked seasons: heavy rainfall the gives way to high amounts of sunlight and very warm temperatures.

Appellations, nothing to be afraid of!

The labelling, or appellation system for the region’s wines has three main categories, starting with the top quality regions. Grape yields vary from 46 hectolitres per hectare in the regional appellation to 42 and 42 for Villages and named villages.

• Appellations locales, which covers 18 crus, including the most famous wines of the region
• Côtes du Rhône Villages, wines from 95 communes and within this group 17 have geographic designations that can be mentioned on the label; the region’s web site in English, which offers a handy guide to appellation system, refers to them as “named villages“
• Appellation Regionale Côtes du Rhône, covers wines from 171 communes.

Côtes du Rhône wines offer myriad options for matching wine and food

Tasting notes from a series of whites, rosés and reds from the Côtes du Rhône:

the whites, rosés

 Coming next: the reds

Luscious rose wines from the Côtes du Rhône, a minority worth trying

The winners from the recent Mondial du Pinot Noir competition will be available to the public Friday night

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Vinea opens its doors Friday night 2 September, giving the public a great opportunity to sample 1,500 wines from 150 Swiss wine producers as well as those of the guest of honour, Sicily.

This is not only a fun event, with white tents lining the main street of Sierre for the entire weekend, but it’s Switzerland’s largest outdoor wine festival and for a minimal fee you can have a crash course in Swiss wines or limit yourself and sample the new vintages of your favourite producers.

Some 10,000 people attend every year and the atmosphere is friendly but there is, happily, little drunkenness and with events for children and babysitting services, families are part of the crowd.

New plus features this year

• The roadworks in 2010 that forced the fair to have a less than perfect layout are gone and the fair is back to its usual format, easier for visitors
• Friday night is a special session: this is only the second year it has been open to the public, who have a chance to sample the award-winning wines from the big international competition, the Mondial du Pinot Noir, which were announced 1 September (awards are being handed out 2 September to the winning wineries, in Sierre). The focus is on the group of Vinea partners, various specialized quality groups: canton Vaud’s quality label Terravin, Grands Crus du Valais, (Fully, Vétroz, St Léonard and Salgesch/Salquenen), the Grain Noble ConfidenCiel charter, producers from cantons Geneva, Neuchatel and Ticino, the Clos, Domaines et Châteaux Association, and Cervim, the Aosta-based Centre for Research, Environmental Sustainability and Advancement of Mountain Viticulture.
• the number of producers from outside canton Valais continues to grow; until three years ago this was essentially a Valais affair, but the Vinea Association, which manages a number of important international and Swiss wine competitions, is now a Swiss-wide organization
• A special Saturday session at 11:00 with Gianni Giardina from the Sicilian winemakers association takes place at Chateau Mercier, a beautiful spot on the hillside in Sierre, perfect for sampling and learning more about the warm, hearty wines from the south, which are undergoing a renaissance
• Terravin, the canton Vaud quality label group, is holding a Saturday workshop at 15:00; if you want to sample the best of the up and coming as well as older wine producers in Vaud, this is a wonderful way to do it – and there are some beautiful new wines from Vaud (I’ll be writing about them next week)

Details for the Vinea wine fair

Map for Sierre, Google

Avenue Général Guisan, city centre, Sierre

Friday 2 September, 17:30-20:30, CHF 30.00
Saturday 3 September, 10:00-17:00, CHF40.00
Sunday, 4 September, 10:00-17 :00, CHF40.00
Ticket for 2 days, CHF60.00

CFF train station next to the fair. Parking free at Place Bellevue: well sign-posted

Childcare at the Cour des Miracles is free for children age 3 or over, maximum three hours
Daily, 11:00-17:00

Contact for reservations:
Tel.: 027  456 31 44
Fax: 027  456 21 44
E-mail:info@vinea.ch
www.vinea.ch

The Swiss drink 99% of their own wine and 62% of all wine consumed comes from abroad, but Swiss wine exports are growing

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss wines have a boost this week from an airline review, an article in the industry online news site from Australia, eTravel Blackboard, which gives a very upbeat review of Swiss business class travel.

“Not many airlines have a menu with illustrations, but Business Class dining on Swiss flights has always had that extra touch of class.  As for food and beverage service, Switzerland’s excellent wines were served in accompaniment of a selection of dishes, vegetarian option included.  Swiss wines are not generally exported because production is small and the locals buy up every bottle possible, so it’s a treat to be able to enjoy them when the opportunity arises.”

True, Switzerland has excellent wines, and true, they are not generally exported and production is small, and the locals like to drink Swiss wine, although 62 percent of the wine consumed in Switzerland comes from abroad, according to April 2011 federal statistics.

A key reason why the wines are not exported is that most producers are too small to be well positioned to export. I’ve discussed exports, in the past week, with four producers who do sell abroad, and they are keen to expand. Even with the Swiss franc at its current high, mid- to high-range quality Swiss wines are sold at very competitive prices compared to similar quality products from other European wine-producing countries. Exports account for less than 1 percent of Swiss wine production, but they increased from 18.8 hl to 20.2 hl, from 2009 to 2010, and with larger producers gradually adding smaller vine parcels and increasing capacity, this figure will inch up.

Hl equals hectolitre, a measure used by the international wine industry to measure production, imports and exports. A hectolitre equals 100 litres; a standard bottle of wine is .75 litres.

http://www.exinteriordesign.com/switzerland-alterations-and-restorations-of-buildings-house-in-charrat/

If you’re a bird, or better yet several thousand birds, the best party in town is any local vineyard where the harvest is long finished but cold weather has held off and the grapes left on the wines are berry berry sweet. The air was filled with beating wings Tuesday near Mont-sur-Rolle, Chateau Chas great clouds of birds searched for the finest, juiciest grapes. When they finished the Chasselas there were Pinot Noir grapes, and some Pinot Gris and more.

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Birds feast on leftover grapes on the vines in Mont-sur-Rolle, Switzerland; French Alps, across Lake Geneva, in the distance

Guinness measured it and found it to be the world’s largest wine glass: 2.4 metres high and 1.65 metres wide, made by a group of Lebanese winemakers to promote their products, half of which are exported. Cheers! And good luck getting a manageable sip. For thier efforts, here’s a little information on Lebanese wines:

It’s one of the world’s oldest wine-producing nations, and claims to be the oldest, but in the past decade, the number of new wineries has increased dramatically. Grape varieties, according to wikipedia: “Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Rhone varietals such as Cinsaut, Carignan and Grenache. However Lebanon has a rich heritage of indigenous grapes which are attracting more attention, for instance Musar White is made from a blend of Obaideh and Merwah.” The Wall Street Journal wrote a good feature article on the current state of the business in early 2009.

For more information on Lebanese wines: the Vinifest 2010 web site for the just-ended festival with the world’s largest glass and a description (Fre) of the Route du Vin.

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Visperterminen's vines in the snow, 1,100+ metres, in Valais - Europe's highest! (©2010 Ellen Wallace)

I’ve been holed up for hours lately organizing my massive collection of digital photos, about 12,000 a year for the past three years alone. Many of them are of Swiss vines and wines and wine producers, winemaking villages, competitions, landscapes: in short, the world of Swiss wine, which I love. There are others from Bordeaux and Beaujolais in France, Sicily in Italy, California in the US.

I’ve now prepared a set of them to send off to Oenovideo‘s photography contest, but seeing the images again and scouring them for photography faults makes me a bit reluctant to part company with the collection of 35 of what I think are my best images of “water and vines”, the theme of this year’s contest. I’ve never entered before.

Here’s a small version of one shot I took recently, of the spectacular vines of Visperterminen in Valais, with fresh snow covering the slopes where Europe’s highest vines grow. The village itself is higher than 1,300m but the vines are just below the village, at about 1,100 metres, unusually high: in most parts of Switzerland grapes don’t grow properly above 700-800m.

We are truly spoiled in Switzerland for excellent views and the superb wines that are the children of those landscapes.

Wish me luck, please, for the contest! (Bye-bye photos)

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By Ellen Wallace – The vines are great any time of year, but it’s hard to do better than autumn, when the vine leaves are turning the hillsides into golden mazes, fermentation is in the cool air and skies are blue. One of my own favourite areas is beyond the famous Lavaux terraced vineyards and the end of the lake, around Aigle, which is home to the Vaud wine museum, which gives you 2,000 years of winemaking history in an amazing old castle.

I just learned aobut a great way to walk there in October if you have visitors coming to Switzerland, or if you prefer to earn your glass of wine by hiking first. “A Different View” does a series of October (sign up ahead) brisolée and vineyards lunch tours that end up in Aigle. The company uses experienced guides for a variety of out of the ordinary day trips in the Lake Geneva region. I have UK relatives followed by old friends from the US and elsewhere coming just when my work will be at its September-October busiest, so I will point them in this direction – a familiar dilemma for many of us who started life in another corner of the world.