The Etoiles du Valais wine awards were handed out 4 December in Bern to the wineries judged the best in the canton in 2019, each for a wine that features the canton’s native son grape varieties. Vintages were 2018 except for Syrah, Cornalin and Heidi, which benefit from more time, and these awards were for […]
Païen
2018 Swiss wines: young Valais wines tasted in May
Les Glorieuses is a series of wine tastings held on four Mondays in May every year in Martigny. It’s open to wine and food professionals and tends to attract many sommeliers – Mondays were chosen because that’s the day when many restaurants are closed and sommeliers have a day off. I made it to two […]
Uncork now: friends of asparagus, 11 May 2019
Right behind the Bains de Saillon, where I recently went swimming to kick off the annual spring fitness burst, is a farmer’s hut where I bought some tiny white asparagus. At home I cooked them in a fine risotto, and I was hooked: asparagus season was upon us. I went back to photograph some of […]
They were right: small yields, great old wines
A remarkable tasting session Monday 12 November, of older wines from Valais, made by a group of small independent vignerons-encaveurs, members of the Charte de qualité St Théodule. The oldest wine was 1964, just two years before a handful of pioneers, intent on making quality wine, created the charter. They were firm in the belief […]