Three CHF1 stamps, issued 9 September 2011 by Swiss Post, pay hommage to the Lavaux vineyards, a Unesco World Heritage site
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Montreux’s lakefront will be abuzz with VIPs and journalists Friday morning 9 September as “The Suisse” steamboat sets out to tour the lake in front of the Lavaux vineyards, a Unesco World Heritage site. On board will be Vaud artist Bernard Völlmy whose landscape of the vineyards and Lake Geneva, with the Alps in the background as viewed from above, features in the newest set of philately stamps issued by Swiss Post 9 September.
The latest collection of stamps is available at post offices and from Swiss Post online 9 September. The postal service is issuing five collections in 2011.
The new collection includes beautiful artwork from a group of young handicapped artists who worked with the Pro Infirmis art project “mehrlebenswert – c’estbonlavie” (lifewellworthliving).
Völlmy’s artwork covers three separate CHF1 stamps, which can be used for regular mail as well as collected. The original painting pays hommage to the extraordinary terraced vineyards that date back to the 12th century, with dry walls that can reach 15 metres in length.
The region produces some of Switzerland’s finest wines, red, white, rosé and a small amount of sparkling. It is home to several charming Medieval wine villages and has a number of popular walking paths.The painting covers a 900 hectare area of vines.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss Post’s latest stamp offerings include a package of three in honour of the Lavaux vineyards, a Unesco World Heritage site, to be issued Friday 9 September.
The stamps are part of the popular Swiss philately collection but they can also be used as normal stamps.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Two armed robbers who held up an Avia gas station Friday night shortly before 20:00, between Forel and Mézières, are being sought by Vaud police. The pair, riding a motorcycle, escaped with the contents of the cash register.
A similar scenario occurred less than 30 minutes earlier, at Corseaux, where two masked men on a motorcycle used a gun to threaten personnel at the Agip gas station, but when the cashier refused to give them money the pair fled. One was wearing a black motorcycle helmet, the other a black and white leather jacket.
Police set up a manhunt, but the robbers have not been caught.
Lavaux, canton Vaud, Switzerland
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Google and Unesco have agreed to put 19 of the 890 World Heritage sites on Google Street View. Unesco is the United Nations agency behind the collection of sites. The two will be adding other World Heritage sites, mainly those that are less easily accessible, they said in a news release 3 December.
The other sites, such as the Lavaux terraced vineyards in canton Vaud, will be shown on Google Earth View and Google maps.
Links to other sites: Google/Unesco announcement, Unesco World Heritage sites, Lavaux, Switzerland
Title: Train ride through the land of the “grand crus”
Location: Lavaux, Cully and Lutry
Link out: Click here
Description: From April to October ride a charming tourist train on wheels and visit the Lavaux vineyards. Departure from Lutry or Cully.
Start Date: 30 Aug 2009
End Date: 01 Oct 2009
Title: Evening visit to winegrowers in the region
Location: Aran, Cully, Epesses, Grandvaux, Riex and Lutry
Link out: Click here
Description: Visit the Lavaux vineyards every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Depart from Lutry and enjoy a train ride.
Start Date: 30 Aug 2009
Start Time: 18:30
End Date: 20 Sep 2009
Féchy's vineyards, Lake Geneva, French Alps
Féchy, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Wine producers in the small (population: 700) village of Féchy, above the lakeside town of Rolle, met Friday 12 June for the annual “baptism” of their Vigne du Monde, vintage 2008.
It was a remarkably charming event, held next to the landmark hillside white chapel, with the sun shining, the lake shimmering and world-class chef Fredy Girardet talking about the vintage for which he is the godfather.
New AOC rules prompting marketing efforts
A question of terroir and the winemakers' skill
Behind it lay a serious 21st century marketing push. Féchy’s wines are some of the best in the canton and their producers want to ensure that under a new AOC (appellations d’origine contrôlées) system, as many of their wines as possible win the right to the coveted premier grand cru label that will designate top regional wines. These are likely to be among the Swiss wines that are exported, extending the market, so the financial incentive for producers is significant.
This time next year, in May and June 2010, wine lovers will see the results of a major change now sweeping through the vineyards of canton Vaud (see wine buyer’s guide below).
Geneva's voters say yes to school reform
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss voters Sunday 17 May adopted biometric passports and a government proposal for insurance to cover, to a limited extent, complementary medicine costs. In cantonal and communal votes, Geneva’s citizens accepted their government’s proposal to reform the education system and they have voted to abolish citizen juries. In Vaud, a new commune has been created, Bourg-en-Lavaux, which embraces five villages.
Title: Self-guided walks through Lavaux
Location: Lavaux, Vaud
Link out: Click here
Description: A downhill hike dotted with several points of interest to help you appreciate the views over Lake Geneva and its mountain backdrop along the way.
Start Date: 27 Apr 2009
End Date: 30 Aug 2009
