GENEVA, SWITZERLAND /AMONG THE VINES – The grape harvest begins today in most of Switzerland and you can expect to find secondary roads everywhere slowed by tractors, trailers and other slow-moving vehicles coming and going from the vineyards.
Canton Vaud police Monday morning issued a warning to drivers to use care and adapt their speeds to these vehicles, which are sometimes parked along the roads. Note that the reason for traffic jams is not always quickly apparent, so be cautious.
Lavaux World Heritage vineyards: watch for tractors!
Police point out that drivers must respect temporary traffic restrictions and alerts set up in a number of areas, notably the Corniche (Riex-Chexbres) and roads between Chexbres and Rivaz, as well as between Grandvaux and Cully.
The three largest wine-producing cantons are, in order of size, Valais, Vaud and Geneva and in all of them there was snow last week at higher altitudes, and rain below.
Venthone, canton Valais, Pinot Noir grapes 5 October, nearly readyThe harvest won’t be hurt by the cold and wet as long as growers are able to get the harvest in quickly and there is no sudden warmup, which could lead to problems with rotting grapes.
The weather forecast is for a mix of cool rain showers and sun until the weekend.
This year’s harvest is starting later than in recent years because of a long, cold, wet spring that caused the grapes to flower later than usual. The traditional rule is that grapes are ripe enough to harvest after 100 days.
Ed. note: You can find all the Among the Vines articles by searching under categories.
In addition, Swiss wine tips and picks are new, regular features on Events.GenevaLunch.com – a great starting point for learning more about the vineyards that surround you and the international award-winning wines they produce.
Valais vineyards shortly before the start of the harvest, or vendange