Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s best winemaker will be named Friday night at a gala event, the annual Swiss Wine Night, when the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse awards are handed out. The Grand Prix is the country’s main wine competition and the three top winning wines in 11 categories, from 66 finalists, will be announced.

The competition took place in August, during Vinea in Sierre, Switzerland’s largest wine fair, with finalists  announced 18 August. Judges blind-tasted 1,860 wines entered in the competition by 460 winemakers from the country’s six wine-producing regions. The Grand Prix is open to all producers with no pre-selections as is sometimes the case in large wine competitions, creating a level playing field for small and large producers alike who would like to have their top quality wines recognized.

The Grand Prix du Vin Suisse awards will this year be accompanied by a special event: the first-ever English version of the encyclopedic Swiss Wine Guide 2009-2010 will be launched Friday evening in Zurich. The third edition of the French and German versions, widely considered the main reference for Swiss wines, will also be presented.  (Ed. note: the English adaptation was done by Ellen Wallace, publisher of GenevaLunch, with a small team. See Among the vines, blog post on the making of the Swiss Wine Guide).