Switzerland - Wines
Switzerland is not a country one usually expects to rush headlong into change. These days, however, her vinous conservatism is threatened by the increasing strength of the European Community.Self-imposed practices aimed at improving quality are being introduced at community and cantonal level, with the intention of making Swiss wine more competitive in a possibly enlarged, possibly unified European wine market. Experiments in winemaking techniques, such as the partial evaporation of the juice of the unpressed grape in hermetically sealed wind tunnels, suggest a new approach to cellar procedure; the Swiss are also susceptible as anyone else to the current fashion for aging wine in new barriques.
There are vineyards in almost every canton, with nearly two -thirds being in the Valais on either side of the Rhône and in Vaud, overlooking the Lake of Geneva. Most of the white wine vineyards are planted in Chasselas -- a fairly neutral grape which allows flavor from the soil to show through. As a general rule the Swiss like wines with less acidity than other European nations, but some growers in the hot climate of the Valais are producing a crisper style by harvesting Chasselas when it is not yet fully ripe. A lighter, slightly sparkling and cheaper Chasselas is produced between Lausanne and Geneva. The most elegant versions are likely to come from the very steep and expensive-to-work vineyards of the Lavaux or from Chablais Vaudois, between the Lake of Geneva and the start of the Valais.
The wines of the Valais include a number of specialties and rarities
from indigenous or old-established vine varieties, which are often interesting
and sometimes stunning in their power and flavor. Chasselas wine is usually
called Fendant here, and much red wine, blended from Blauburgunder (Pinot Noir)
and Gamay, with the latter playing the minor role, is sold as Dôle. To an
outsider, Swiss Pinot Noir is very agreeable, although its low acidity can mean
it lacks center.The small Italian-speaking part of Switzerland is known locally for its Merlot, and in the scattered vineyards of German Switzerland Riesling-Sylvaner (Müller-Thurgau) is widely planted. The red wine from Blauburgunder benefits from the Föhn, the warm breeze that blows through the Alps, to ripen the grapes and reduce the likelihood of rot.
Practically all Swiss wine is dry, and much good wine is produced in large merchants' cellars and by cooperative cellars. The best remains in Switzerland.
