“Swiss” wine with Valais and Vaud traits, a taste of the future?

Now you don’t see it, now you do! A surprising label that reveals itself fully only after sitting for a moment in cold water is the marketing ploy for a new wine from Lavaux winery Etienne & Louis Fonjallaz.

“Révélation Brut Rosé” (CHF42) was introduced to the world today at Obeirut in Lausanne. the city centre restaurant/caterer is the sole distributor of the sparkling wine in addition to the Fonjallaz winery in Epesses.

The wine is a beauty: fine bubbles, nose of red fruits, good structure. Elegant and, while I liked it as an aperitif, it comes into its own with the well spiced Lebanese foods at Obeirut.

Traditional method, Pinot Noir varietal brut

It’s a single grape traditional method (champenoise) sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir grapes from Saillon, in canton Valais. The grape bunches are selected carefully and pressed whole before  fermentation in vats followed by the in-bottle fermentation that creates the effervescence.

The Fonjallaz family in 1989 expanded their holdings from Epesses, buying vine parcels in Saillon that are particularly good for red grape varieties.

“The Pinot Noir there has better acidity and is better for the kind of wine we were looking to make,” says son Louis Fonjallaz, who oversees the cellar and marketing. His father manages the vineyard. The family makes 15 wines from 4 hectares.

I also tried “Orchis”, a Merlot (CHf32) that is also from the Saillon vines, which are at 550 metres altitude. It was excellent with the meat dishes served at Obeirut: black fruits, full-bodied and smooth, silky tannins.

Of wines and watches

The wine is the brainchild of Louis Fonjallaz and close friends Anouk Danthe and Olivier Leu, marketing and design experts in the watchmaking business who set up their own company in Lully in 2007.

They wanted a Swiss wine that would match an haute gamme watch. Danthe had launched Audemar Piaget’s Royal Oak Concept before leaving the company to start her own business; she and Leu have created the brand Revelations.

The watch features their trademarked Magical Watch Dial, which uses nanotechnology to turn the face of the watch so it can show either its classic face or become transparent to show the movement.

The wine was created around the idea of a similar revelation. The label, using thermoactive ink, remains simple and uncluttered or, after chilling in an ice bucket, as sparkling wine usually does, the label’s more complex graphics surface.