Here are my personal recommendations for places to visit during the Valais wineries Open Days Thursday-Saturday, 13-15 May. This is far from exhaustive, given the 179 wineries participating. And not all wineries are part of this, including some excellent ones, for a variety of reasons. To keep the list reasonable, I’ve had to leave out some I know to be very good, so don’t hesitate to explore on your own.

And don’t be afraid to say you don’t know much, either about wine or about their particular wines: winemakers love nothing better than an invitation to explain what they do – the good ones love their work and want to share that.

My criteria: cellars that are grouped together for easy visits, a mix geographically, my own knowledge of the wineries from visiting them, wineries listed in the Swiss Wine Guide. Note: I oversee the team that provides the English version of this definitive reference work, published every two years.

You’ll find the addresses and details on the Vins du Valais’s web site, in the Open Days brochure. Also see my previous post on what you should know before going to the Open Days.

An exception to the rule that this is free is the Jardin des Vins in Sion, where you pay CHF20 to sample the wines of 13 local producers. It simplifies things and you’ll get your money’s worth, so if you’re in the area, I suggest you stop here. You get your money back if you order 12 wines.

I’ve put an E next to cellars where I know they speak English.

Less than two hours by train from Geneva

And do consider taking the train: Sion is less than two hours from Geneva, to give you an idea.

• Martigny-Combe: Cave Patricia and Gerald Besse
• Fully: Cave de la Tulipe, Cave les Follaterres, Benoit Dorsaz, Philippe et Veronyc Mettaz
• Leytron: Cave Defayes-Crettenand, Cave de l’Etat du Valais
• St Pierre-de-Clage: Didier Joris, Cellier de la Dzaquette, Maurice Gay (E), Cave du Vidomne
• Chamoson: Cave Ardevaz, Cave a Polyte
• Vetroz: Cave la Madeleine, Cave Vetroz
• Granges: Domaine des Muses (E)
• Flanthey: Cave Briguet et fils, Cave Les Romaines, Bagnoud Vins
• Sierre: two large wineries are worth the stop, Espace Provins in the centre and Rouvinez wines on the hillside (shuttle bus)
• Veyras/Miege: Cave du Verseau (E), Cave Caloz, Cave Caprice du Temps (E), La Cave des Champs
• Salgesch (Salquenen in French): Adrian Mathier, Cave du Rhodan
• Varen: Cave du Chevaliers, Bruno Tenud-Tschopp