Title: Lecture (Fre): birthplace of Chasselas
Location: Mont-sur-Rolle wine museum
Link out: Click here
Description: José Vouillamoz of the Uni. of Neuchatel\’s national research centre for plant survival on where Chasselas, the grape for which Switzerland is widely known, comes from, based on genetic studies of over 100 plants in Europe and Middle East. CHF15
Start Time: 20:00
Date: 2010-03-10
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:
Burgundy comes to Sierre's sunny Vinea: Colline de Cortons wines were guests
Sierre, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – For the 16th year in a row, Vinea, the main wine fair for Swiss wines, managed to order sunshine for its two days of wine-tasting. This is the first year that the fair, organized originally by Valais winemakers to promote their own wines, has been opened to bottles from throughout Switzerland. Some 1,200 wines were on offer, and more than 10,000 people from around the country showed up to sample them.
Switzerland produces 1.12 million hectolitres of wine, a little over half of which is red wine, and Swiss consumers drink 37 litres per inhabitant a year.
The foreign wine guest of honour was the Colline de Cortons region in Burgundy, France, which brought 2006 bottles from several of its producers, providing a good basis for comparison within the region.
Vinea 2009, Swiss wines take over main street of Sierre, Switzerland (photo: ©2009 www.photo-genic.ch)
Vinea wine fair 2008
Lausanne / Sierre, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Canton Vaud’s wine group Domaines Clos & Châteaux will be one of the guests of honour at Vinea, Switzerland’s main fair for Swiss wines, which opens to the public Saturday morning at 10:00, outdoors in Sierre. MeteoSwiss is predicting that Friday’s rain will turn to sunny skies during the day Saturday, with temperatures around 15-18C (take a jacket).
The fair, traditionally focused on Valais wines, is extending its reach to include other Swiss winemakers as part of the main offering this year, with two guests of honour: the second is wines from Burgundy’s Cortons hills in France.
The wine fair draws some 10,000 winelovers from Switzerland and neighbouring countries each year, thanks to an easy system for sampling the 1,200 wines and talking to the 110 winemakers presenting. The main street of Sierre is taken over by white tents organized in a line that replicates the Rhone River’s wine-producing villages in Valais, and visitors pay CHF30 for a tasting glass they use to sample as many wines as they like.
Friday the fair opens formally with the awards ceremony for the international wine competition, the Mondial du Pinot Noir.
Pinot Noir: a subtle, elegant wine
Sierre, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A wine from Spain and another from Valais are the big winners at the annual Mondial du Pinot Noir wine competition, the world’s only top-level competition for wines made from this widespread grape, held in Sierre. “Cortijo los aguillares”, a Pinot Noir from Ronda, Spain, from the domain of Jose Antonio Itarte and “Malvoisie Flétrie sur Souche”, a Pinot Gris sweet wine made from grapes withered on the vine, from Cave de la Madeleine (André Fontannaz, Vétroz, Valais) were both awarded the Grande Médaille d’Or.
World Champion of Pinot Noir Producers
A new award, World Champion of Pinot Noir Producers, went to a Zurich, Switzerland producer, Urs Pircher from Eglisau, Zurich. The new award is designed to recognize the best producer who, over three consecutive vintages, has continued to make top-quality wine.
Title: Guided wine tour
Location: Ollon, Vaud
Link out: Click here
Description: Take a tour through the vineyards of Ollon, enjoy a meal and partake in wine tasting.
Start Date: 09 Sep 2009
End Date: 13 Sep 2009
Title: English cheeses and Swiss wines tasting
Location: Mont-sur-Rolle, Vaud
Link out: Click here
Description: A day to enjoy five different kinds of English cheeses, paired with Swiss wines and local specialties.
Date: 04 Sep 2009
Title: Meeting of the Valais wine producers
Location: Sierre, Valais
Link out: Click here
Description: Over 1,200 bottles will be presented during the wine fair. For the first time, producers from other regions will participate.
Start Date: 05 Sep 2009
End Date: 06 Sep 2009
Title: Wine and chocolate: a family affair
Location: Romainmôtier, Vaud
Link out: Click here
Description: A group of nine Côtes-de-l’Orbes wine producers are presenting their wines at the Caveau de Romainmôtier, along with chocolates from Pascale Philippe’s chocolate shop Passionnément Chocolat in Yverdon-les-Bains.
What’s really special about this is that you can bring the whole family. This wine tasting doesn’t have to be an all-adult affair. The Formule jeune lets under-18ers taste four different chocolates and two different artisanal juices from the region for CHF6.
Start Date: 18 Jul 2009
End Date: 30 Sep 2009
Charles Bonvin & Fils in Sion celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008
Sierre, Valais, Switzerland (Le Nouvelliste, Fre) – Rouvinez, Sierre-based winery, will buy Charles Bonvin & Fils, including 20 hectares of vineyard, to become the largest private wine company in Valais. Valais is Switzerland’s largest wine-producing canton, with 40 percent of the country’s wine: 45 million litres in 2008. The sale, reportedly for some CHF10 million, will keep the oldest wine cellar in Valais in local hands.
Title: Cheeses, wine and more
Location: Mont-sur-Rolle, Vaud
Link out: Click here
Description: An evening dedicated to local cheeses, accompanied by some of the best wine in the region.
Date: 04 Jun 2009
Title: The wines of summer
Location: Morges, Vaud
Link out: Click here
Description: Free wine tasting at La Licorne in Morges.
Start Date: 04 Jun 2009
End Date: 06 Jun 2009
Title: Arvinis 2009, international wine fair
Location: Morges, Vaud
Link out: Click here
Description: One of Switzerland’s largest wine events, 6 days and 20,000 people, wines from around the world, showcase for Swiss wines, sensibly next to the train station (don’t drive!), GenevaLunch feature story
Start Date: 22 Apr 2009
End Date: 27 Apr 2009
Title: Know your Swiss wines: Ticino
Location: Lutry, Grand Caveau du Singe Vert
Link out: Click here
Description: Tasting session with Vini Rovio Ronco, one of Ticino’s top producers (Ellen Wallace, GL editor and wine blogger, will join the group)
Start Time: 15:00
Date: 31 Jan 2009
End Time: 17:30
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.
Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – The grape harvest will begin in cantons Geneva, Vaud and Valais, the country’s three largest, Monday 17 September. Neuchatel begins Thursday of this week. Weather for the past two weeks has been kind to the growers and the harvest should be very good, say cantonal authorities. See also: GenevaLunch feature, "Swiss wine 2007 harvest could be excellent."
