This was a very wet weekend in Switzerland, which meant I pretty much had the vineyards to myself, nice for photos as long as you don’t insist on sun in your images. This area is to the east (upriver side of the village) of the well-known Sierre-Salgesch vineyard trail, 6 km and 2.5 hours, that […]
Valais
Hans Erni, Farinet vineyard artist, dies age 106
Hans Erni, artist from Lucerne, has died, age 106 – a painter and sculptor who was still at work daily, to the end. In 2014 he created and donated a “Colombe de la jeunesse”, or youth dove metallic fountain, which was erected near the Farinet vines, the smallest officially registered vine parcel in the world, […]
Wine book collectors: 3 Swiss books reviewed
Circle of Wine Writers member Christopher Fielden has published an upbeat review of three Swiss wine books in Wayward Tendrils Quarterly, a publication for wine book collectors. Included is a very positive review of my book (800 copies sold since September), Vineglorious! Switzerland’s Wondrous World of Wines. The others are two books I’ve mentioned here, […]
Down below, preparing for the harvest
At dawn Sunday, it looked like this, the mist hanging over the vineyards of Sierre, Miège, Salgesch and beyond, in canton Valais. Quiet vineyards, but as of today in full swing with the harvest (although they began last week).
Five wines for Chinese visitors
Last week I gave a presentation on Swiss wines and led a tasting session of five wines from western Switzerland for a group of 30 Chinese managers from Harbin. They are following a three-week intensive course at the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz’s International Programme in Solothurn. Strong interest, lively discussions and wonderful questions all around. Here are […]