Ollon, in the foothills of the Alps, is at one end of canton Vaud, close to the border with Valais, one of the last wine villages, with Bex and St Triphon,  before the higher Vaud and Valais Alps

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND / AMONG THE VINES – If you didn’t make it Saturday to the Caves Ouvertes, Vaud’s turn for wineries’ open days, it’s not too late and it’s a good option for a wet, wet Sunday.

Here’s how it works: you pay CHF15 for a glass at your first winery, keep it with you and you can sample wines at all the other wineries after, included in the price. It also gives you free access to the shuttle buses that are running between train stations and groups of wineries. Railway stations for each of the four wine regions within the canton, plus Bonvillars (Yverdon station):

• Chablais : Aigle, Villeneuve, Ollon.
• Côtes de l’Orbe : Yverdon.
• La Côte : Morges, Gland, Rolle.
• Lavaux : Cully, Chexbres, Vevey, Lutry.

Vaud is Switzerland’s second largest wine-producing region, and it covers a wide swath, so it’s a good idea to limit yourself to one of the five sub-regions.

Spectacular whites: home to Chasselas

St Triphon, shown here Saturday, is a tiny and charming hamlet just off the autoroute, famous for its botanical gardens, but it is also home to a gold medal winemaker

The canton has 3,800 cultivated hectares of vines and it’s famous for being home to Chasselas, which covers two-thirds of the vine-growing area. The best-known and most spectacular area is the Lavaux Unesco World Heritage site but one of the joys of Vaud is that the regions vary significantly, from the string of villages just above Lake Geneva near the Geneva border to the steep Lavaux slopes to the foothills of the Alps from Aigle to Bex.

This is where the Chasselas grape expresses its terroir beautifully. It is, at its best, unrivalled among whites for delicacy and elegance but also for its capacity to let the terroir decide if floral or white fruit or other notes will dominate. In parts of La Côte and Lavaux it is deliciously mineral, often with tiny bubbles when poured, a “petillant” wine that is not sparkling but that is notably refreshing.

Reds offer beautiful surprises to the unsuspecting

Vaud’s reputation for white wines leaves many newcomers unaware that it has numerous award-winning red. Check past winners from the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse, the national wine competition. Among my red favourites close to Geneva, to pick just one area – Gamays and elegant red blends from the Dutruy brothers in Founex, Noémie Graf’s Pinot Noir and blends from Begnins, Reynaud Parmelin’s reds at La Capitaine in Begnin, and Philippe Bovet’s “Atlantique” Gamay in Givrins. The Dutruys and Parmelin are fluent in English, for those whose French is weak. Try the grape varieties developed recently in Switzerland, Garanoir and Gamaret, as varietals (single grape wines) or in blends.

Very useful: the Vinea Swiss Wines app for iPhone and canton Vaud’s wineries app, available for downloading online