Arvinis welcomes American wines for the wine fair’s 15th year

Wine fair offers easy way to discover Swiss wines

Morges, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Morges is offering a fine pair of anniversary bouquets starting Wednesday 14 April. The first tulips are opening at the lakeside park which is home to the annual Tulip Festival, and the popular wine fair Arvinis opens its doors. This is the 40th anniversary of the Tulip Festival, which runs from 2 April to 16 May, and the 15th anniversary of Arvinis, which is the largest wine fair in the Lake Geneva region. It offers visitors some 2,500 wines to sample during its six-day run.

Arvinis serves as a harbinger of spring, with wine villages throughout the country holding their open houses in the weeks that follow. The guest of honour for 2010 is the California Wine Institute.

Their wines can be sampled just inside the doors. Visitors are then free to visit the stands. Those planning ahead can check the list of wine producers and other exhibitors, then match the ones they want to visit against the map of the stands.

Wine-lovers will find several special events (see site for prices and details):

• Thursday evening, 19:00 – wines from Morges, matching these wines with food
• Friday, 18:00 – introduction to wine-tasting and 20:00 – sweet red wines
• Saturday, 11:30 – fine wines from Gevrey-Chambertin in France, 17:00 – California Wines presents Zinfandel
• Sunday, 11:30 – world tour of fine wines, 17:00 – wine passion turned towards fruit-based alcoholic beverages
• Monday, 19:30 – wine and ice cream

For first-tme visitors, here is a mini-guide to Arvinis:

Transport, parking: Take public transport, to avoid drink/driving problems, but also because there is little parking next to Arvinis. The large public parking area at the entrance to Morges, coming from Geneva, is the best place to leave your car if you do drive.

Fee, tasting glass: CHF20 / €16, credit cards accepted

Hours: Open from 16:00 weekdays and 11:00 weekends, closes at 22:00 every evening except Sunday, 20:00

Children, animals: Children under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. No animals allowed.

Ordering wine: This is a commercial wine fair and producers will happily take your orders for delivery later. Many of them ship via the post office, at little or no cost depending on quantity. But the main goal of wine producers at Arvinis is to introduce their wines to you and help you learn about them. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like and don’t be afraid to show that you’re not an expert. Ed.note: For those whose French is weak, this is the perfect opportunity to perfect it.