Swiss Syrah learning curve Geneva was home to a terrific master class in June of Syrah wines from granite areas, a project offered by jointly by the AOC St Joseph in France and Fully vignérons in Valais, Switzerland. It included north of northern Rhone Syrahs from Valais and northern Rhone wines from France, whose vineyards […]
Fully
Could biodynamic be the future of Swiss wine?
Nicolas Joly pitches biodynamic to the Swiss Nicolas Joly is a superstar in the increasingly accepted world of biodynamic winemaking, although he would probably cringe at that label. But a presentation Monday night in Valais, at the Tsampéhro cellar in Flanthey, made it was easy to see why he’s not just another farmer touting natural […]
Germanier, one winery’s quest for the best
Looking beyond formulas for great wines The Guardian’s article about natural, organic and biodynamic wines with its slew of missionary purists reminded me of a series of photos I took in March at the Jean-René Germanier winery in Vetroz. The best Swiss wineries are trying ancient, older and new methods and combinations of all of […]
Arvinis addendum: Cave Rodaline’s trio
Arvinis in Montreux, Wednesday evening: I visited Cave Rodaline’s stand to do a comparative tasting of their three terroir Petite Arvine wines, which I’ve wanted to do since my Combe d’Enfer hike in March among their vines, above Fully in Valais. This is a great way to understand how a producer can make different Petite Arvines […]
Exhilarating vineyards: La Combe d’Enfer
Impossible vineyards. Impossible to stand in the middle of Fully’s dramatic Combe d’Enfer in Fully, across the Rhone river from Martigny, and not be awestruck. There are higher vineyards in Switzerland and in the world, there are possibly steeper ones, there are wilder ones. My own home is higher than this. But the name gives […]