Sierre, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The only Pinot Noir (single grape) international wine competition, the Mondiale du Pinot Noir, kicks off in Sierre, Valais today, with Burgundy for the first time participating on a large scale. Burgundy has long dominated the market and been synonymous in the public’s mind with Pinot Noir, the grape responsible for the French region’s best wines. In recent years, the balance has shifted and several other parts of the world, including Switzerland, have begun to provide excellent Pinot Noir wines. The Mondial, begun in 1998, has served as a showcase of the variety the grape can offer.

Fifty judges from around the world will spend this weekend judging 1,050 wines of which 105 are from France. Germany has also begun to participate on a larger scale, with 127 wines registered. A majority of wines, 64%, are Swiss, as is often the case with international competitions. Switzerland’s interest in wines from elsewhere is a key to the Mondial’s success:  the country, despite the size of its own wine industry, imports more wine per inhabitant than any other country, 26 litres per person per year, with 60% of these coming from France and Italy.

France remains the leading producer of Pinot Noir wines in terms of quantity, with Germany second and Switzerland third, making about one-fifth the quantity that France produces.