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 […]
Syrah
Chef of the year Giovannini, on pistachios
The year the second chef became the owner Yesterday I learned I am one of the 80-85% of people who eat at the Hôtel de Ville Crissier who, as it turns out, are local folk, not tourists from abroad at all. Franck Giovannini, head chef, gave some of us the figure when we spoke after lunch, […]
Why it pays to visit small wineries
A glass of wine is of course much more than its contents. It’s a place, its geography and geology, its history, its people. When you visit a small winery, you have a chance to hear about this. Last weekend I went to Colline de Daval in Sierre to learn a bit about distilling, of which […]
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 […]
Electus and Eclat, well on the road
“A vine adds leaves, then flowers, then grapes. But wine goes in the opposite direction, from the fruit back to the soil.” Damien Carruzzo, oenologist, Valais Mundi Provins made a daring gamble a decade ago and it is starting to pay off. Switzerland’s largest winery, the Valais cantonal cooperative, decided that as part of its […]