Robert Taramarcaz, left, in a theatre production in August 2009 at his winery: top Chasselas producer
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Stefan Gysel from Hallau, canton Schaffhausen, age 32, has been named the Swiss Winemaker of the Year as part of the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse. A record 2,117 wines were entered, a 15 percent increase over 2008 for Switzerland’s main and only independent national wine competition. This is the third year of the competition, which evolved from an earlier national awards programme.
Two other top awards were given, the Vinissimo prize, which went to Alain Gerber of Hauteville, canton Neuchatel, for his Prélude 2007 in the category “wine with residual sugar” and the Swiss Bio prize to Reynald Permelin from Domaine de la Capitaine in Begnins, canton Vaud, for his Johanniter 2008 in the category “other single-grape white wines.”
Gold winners in the 11 categories of wines are:
l’Hebdo and GenevaLunch present Switzerland’s top wines with tasting notes, adapted in English from articles that appeared in the 13 November print version of l’Hebdo, Switzerland’s leading news magazine in French. The magazine ran a major story on the winners of the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse, which is Switzerland’s main wine competition, open to all producers in the country.
Discover Switzerland’s winning wines, all 66 of them, in our four-part series, 25 November-2 December. The wines are listed in the Swiss Wine Guide, published November 2008.
- part 1
- Original French version of part of the text, in l’Hebdo
- l’Hebdo’s web site
- Grand Prix du Vin Suisse site
English texts: GenevaLunch
Part 2, other white wines – Riesling-Sylvaner, White blends, Other white varieties, Sweet whites
Note to readers 28 November: due to unexpected problems from a poorly functioning wifi coupled with the flu, this series will be completed in the next 2-3 days. Take your time, sip your wine, and come back soon for more!
RIESLING-SYLVANERRimuss & Weinkellerei Rahm
8215 Hallau, Dickistrasse 1
+41 52 687 3737, post@rimuss.ch
Siblinger Riesling-SylvanerGVS Schachenmann AG
8207 Schaffhouse, Gennersbrunnerstrasse 61
+41 52 631 1800, weine@gvs.ch
Riesling-Sylvaner FlaeschWeingut Davaz, Andreas Davaz
7306 Flaesch
+41 81 302 1710, info@davaz-wein.ch
Schachenmann AG
8207 Schaffhouse, Gennersbrunnerstrasse 61
+41 52 631 1800, weine@gvs.ch
Nutmeg and floral, typical Mueller-Thurgau notes, for the nose, but with hints of fruit and fruitpits. In mouth: great body and a clearly present bubbliness. While it is aromatic, at the same time there are woody notes that, added to the fragrances found by the nose, create a very pleasant mix. Best drunk before 2011.
Weingut Saxer
8537, Nussbaumen, Stammheinerstrasse 9
Zweifel & Co., AG, Urs Zweifel
+41 44 344 2211, info@zweifelweine.ch
This is an atypical Mueller-Thurgau, with a nose that is predominantly floral, where magnolia and elderberry flower come together. On the palate, this comes together for a pleasant and well-balanced ensemble. The lovely vinosity does not prevent the wine from sliding down the throat nicely, elegantly. Best drunk before 2010.
l’Hebdo and GenevaLunch present Switzerland’s top wines with tasting notes, adapted in English from articles that appeared in the 13 November print version of l’Hebdo, Switzerland’s leading news magazine in French. The magazine ran a major story on the winners of the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse, which is Switzerland’s main wine competition, open to all producers in the country.
Discover Switzerland’s winning wines, all 66 of them, in our four-part series, 25-28 November. Wednesday: other whites. Thursday: rosé, Pinot Noir and Gamay. Friday: other reds and an interview.
- Original French version of part of the text, in l’Hebdo
- l’Hebdo’s web site
- Grand Prix du Vin Suisse site
English texts: GenevaLunch
Click on images to view larger.
Salgesch, Valais, November 2008
By Marie Maurisse
1,900 wines tasted, 120 judges, and in the end only 66 bottles selected, each one exceptional.
The wealth of Switzerland’s vineyards might seem inexhaustible, but how do you
go about choosing among the thousands of bottles available? To give us some help, Vinea and the wine magazine Vinum recently organized a Swiss wine competition on a scale grander than any before: 1,900 wines entered, 120 professional judges tasting them. In the end, 66 wines were selected as the best, all of them exceptional bottles, vintage 2007 unless otherwise noted
We introduce you to them here with tasting notes by Barbara Meier-Dittus of Vinum, and Emeline Zufferey, author of the French texts for the Swiss Wine Guide, in bookstores and at kiosks 24 November 2008.
The secrets behind the selections
How many wines were tasted?
The tastings took place in Sierre, Valais, in June, with the same system that was used in 2007: there was no pre-selection and all the wines registered were tasted. In 2008, 460 producers from all of Switzerland participated, for a total of 1,900 wines. Elisabeth Pasquier, managing director of Vinea, which organizes the event in partnership with the European wine review, Vinum, says “The Grand Prix reflects the wonderful diversity of the Swiss winemaking landscape. We’ve had wines from every corner of Switzerland entered,” she notes. “But the two wines we received the most of were Chasselas and Pinot Noir, which is representative of what is grown in Switzerland.”
With participation voluntary, some of the best-known winemakers, such as Marie-Thérèse Chappaz, did not take part.
Who were the judges?
Most of the judges were professional oenologists or sommeliers, but the group also included a few wine journalists and a small number of people who are simply passionate about wine. Foreigners were also invited by the organizing committee that selected the 120 judges.
How were marks given?
Each wine was tasted blind by 5 people who were instructed to give it marks, or points, out of a possible 100. The marks were not a matter of chance or personal taste: the judges must follow the precise criteria laid out by the OIV (International Organization of Vine and Wine), such as the intensity of the nose and how long the wine is on the palate. The final tally is the average of the five scores.
What are the categories?
These are 11 groups of wines ranging from white Chasselas to white blends to rosés and red varieties. For each category the judges selected six finalists, all of whom figure in the tasting notes to follow here. They then narrowed these down to three winners for each category.
And the special prizes?
There are three: the Vinissimo prize goes to the wine with the highest overall score, the Bio Suisse prize is given to the biodynamic production wine which gains the most points and the prize for Winemaker of the Year goes to the winery which has the most wines which figure among the winners.
The 2008 winner of the coveted Winemaker of the Year award is Madeleine Gay, oenologist at Provins in Sion.
The Swiss Wine Guide
Vinea brings together the annual wine competition and the publication of the Swiss Wine Guide (Le Guide des vins suisses in French). The book features all the gold and silver winners of the Grand Prix competition but also lists several hundred of the country’s best wine producers.
And for the first time, the book has been produced in English
(Ed. note: Ellen Wallace, editor of GenevaLunch, was responsible for the team that produced the English version).
CHASSELASAntoine & Christophe Bétrisey
1958 Saint-Léonard, rue du Château 12
+41 27 203 11 26, info@betrisey-vins.ch
Yvorne Grand Cru Château La Maison BlancheMaison Blanche SA
1180 Rolle, place de la Gare 7
+41 21 822 02 02, vente@schenk-wine.ch
Dézaley Grand Cru L’Ermite Pascal Fonjallaz-Spicher
1098 Epesses, La Place
+41 21 799 37 56, pascal.fonjallaz@urbanet.ch
Cave du Consul, Laurent & Nicolas Martin
1166 Perroy, Grand-Rue 39
+41 21 825 2801, caveduconsul@bluewin.ch
Fruit dominates the nose with floral touches and a hint of yeast. In the mouth it’s fresh, with the attack deliciously underlined by a slight bubbliness. Overall very pleasant and with good balance on the palate. A great success for this cellar in the middle of the La Côte area in the Lake Geneva region. Best drunk before 2011.
Cave La Cornalle, Philippe Rouge
1098 Epesses, chemin de la Bastioule
+41 21 799 4122, info@rouge-vins.ch
Domaine des Faverges, Gérald Vallélian & Zvan Régamey
Yet again, and forever more: Lavaux with its Saint Saphorin whose nose is dominated by an appetising fruitiness rounded out by a mineral touch with a breath of bergamot and floral whisps. In the mouth this has good freshness, while being rounded with good structure. It has an interesting persistant aroma. Best drunk before 2010.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s top winemaker is oenologue Madeleine Gay, cellarmaster at the country’s largest cooperative, Provins, in Sion. She was awarded the honour of “Swiss winemaker of the year” Friday evening at the annual Swiss Wine Night in Zurich, when the country’s finest wines are named by the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse competition.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s best winemaker will be named Friday night at a gala event, the annual Swiss Wine Night, when the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse awards are handed out. The Grand Prix is the country’s main wine competition and the three top winning wines in 11 categories, from 66 finalists, will be announced.
Sierre, Valais (GenevaLunch) – Vaud has surprised heavyweight Valais by taking five of the six places for nominees to the title of the country’s best Chasselas (known as Fendant in canton
Valais), the white wine for which French-speaking
Switzerland has traditionally been known.
The six wines were nominated for three medals, with the winners to be announced in November, from among 302 Chasselas wines competing. The Grand Prix du Vin Suisse competition has named 66 wines as nominees in 11 categories, among more than 1,800 entered by 435 Swiss producers. The categories class wine by grape variety and types of blends.
The top prizes are announced 7 November when the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse holds its annual gala awards evening. The largest number entered, 44% of the total, come from Valais, which is Switzerland’s largest wine-producing canton, with Vaud participation at 23%.
The competition has already announced that the two leading cantons are Valais, which has taken 151 gold medals and 155 silver ones, and Vaud, which has 42 gold and 77 silver.
The six named in the Chasselas category:
- Bérolon le Consul Perroy 2007, Cave du Consul, Perroy
- Château Maison Blanche 2007, Maison Blanche SA, Rolle
- Dézaley L’Ermite 2007, Pascal Fonjallaz-Spicher, Epesses
- Dézaley Sous-Marsens 2006, Cave la Cornalle, Philippe Rouge, Epesses
- Domaine des Faverges 2007, Domaine des Faverges, St Saphorin
- Fendant de St-Léonard 2007, Bétrisey Vins, St Léonard
The Grand Prix du Vin Suisse is organized by Vinum magazine and Vinea in Sierre, organizer of Switzerland’s largest wine festival (6-7 September), with Coop as a partner.
Sierre, Valais (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss wine industry is well into a strong revival, shrugging off economic doldrums elsewhere by reinventing the image of one of the country’s favourite beverages after milk. Ninety litres of milk are consumed every year, 57 litres of beer and 41 litres of wine, on average.
In April 2008 the Swiss federal agriculture office published statistics showing that wine consumption rose in 2007 for the first time after several years of falling, then stabilizing. Consumption of Swiss wines rose 5.7% and other wines 2.3%. The number of hectares of vines planted also increased. According to the government, the turnaround is the payoff of 15-plus years of Swiss wine producers replanting and rethinking their offer.
Enter the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse, the country’s main national wine competition, where judging ended Tuesday in Sierre, Valais. The number of entries was up 20% over 2007: a daunting 1,860 wines from 460 producers were sampled. Wines from every wine-producing canton were entered. The results will be announced in November at Swiss Wine Night, a gala event to be held in Zurich.
The enthusiasm for the competition, organized by Vinea and Vinum wine magazine, is the latest in a series of signs that the world of Swiss wines has moved out of its 1980s stupor to become very dynamic.
