GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Gold and silver winners in Switzerland’s national wine competition, the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse, have been named, and the 66 finalists for the country’s three best wines in 11 categories have been named. The Sierre-based Vinea Association, which runs the contest with Vinum, the European wine revue, published the names Monday noon 22 August.

The 66 finalists vie for top awards that will be announced in late October at the Swiss Wines Gala event, when the Swiss Winemaker of the Year award is also given.

This is the fifth and biggest year for the competition, which saw a 15 percent increase in entries, a sign that a growing number of producers have faith in the competition and that they see is as a key way of gaining widespread recognition.

More than 3,000 wines from 581 producers were entered, a total of 9,000 bottles that had to be registered, sorted and marked, then kept cool before the six  days of tasting.

The competition involved 160 judges from the Swiss wine industry, including wine writers and journalists (ed. note: I was one of them), producers, oenologists, sommeliers, retailers, wholesalers and researchers, to get a good cross-section of production experience but also consumer needs.

Overall, there are 250 gold medals and 660 silver; 30 percent of wines entered can be awarded gold or silver under OIV (Organisation International de la Vigne et du Vin) rules. The judges have no knowledge of the origins when they are noting wines, and yet for each canton, about 30 percent of their wines entered win.

Valais, the largest wine-producing canton, has 110 gold winners and 278 silver. Vaud, the second largest, has 79 gold and 201 silver. Geneva has 12 gold and 40 silver, Graubuenden 10 and 28 respectively, Ticino 11 and 12 and Neuchatel 3 and 18. Every wine-producing canton has winners.

The complete list of 2011 GPVS gold and silver medal winners will soon be available on the Vinea web site, Excel file, and I’ll update this when the list is published.

The 2011 GPVS 66 finalists list (pdf), in alphabetical order in each category

Origins of the top 66 wines

Chasselas

Canton Vaud wine producers weigh in here, with five of the six winners, and several names that are new to the awards.

Mueller-Thurgau

Zurich and Graubuenden wines dominate here.

Other white single grape (varietal) wines

Valais has five of the six winners, with Vully in Neuchatel taking the sixth place.

White blends

Diversity rules, with these six winners coming from four wine regions.

Rosés and blushes

Here is a surprise, with four of the six from Vaud, less well known traditionally for its rosés than some areas, an oeil-de-perdrix from Neuchatel and one rosé from Zurich.

Pinot Noir

Eastern Switzerland dominates here, with four of the six, and Vaud and Valais each having one: a collection of beautiful Pinots.

Gamay

Here we start to see some of the shifts in who is growing what in which parts of Switzerland, for although Geneva, traditionally the host to these wines, has one winner, Vaud has three and Valais has two.

Merlot

Again, shifting specialties, with Ticino, famous for its Merlots, getting four winners, but Vaud and Geneva each having one. Climate change but also growing understanding of how to vinify these wines is giving western Switzerland some fine new Merlots.

Other red grape varieties

Valais shines here, with Neuchatel also having a winner. This is a fine mix: Gamaret, Syrah, Cornalin and Humagne Rouge wines.

Red blends

Geneva, Vaud and Valais have winning wines here, a real mix of styles and grape varieties.