To invoke a well known mnemonic from the world of spirits—All tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila—I propose a Swiss wine counterpart: All Dézaley-Marsens is Dézaley, but not all Dézaley is Dézaley-Marsens. Let me explain. The Dézaley Grand Cru AOC is well known to Swiss wine lovers as the crown jewel of […]
Tag: Chasselas
Château de Glérolles: Castle on the Lake
Vaud has a lot to offer the wine-loving history buff with dozens of castles and miles of terraced vineyards to choose from. There are grand chateaux in strategic positions along the lake, hillside palaces with views of the Alps and beyond, and humble estates barely worthy of the “chateau” moniker. But it’s not the size […]
50 Years of Unfiltered Chasselas
A few things coalesced to make this year’s Célébration du Non-Filtré in canton Neuchâtel a must attend event. First, it was the 50th anniversary of the initial release in 1975. That’s an amazing run for a wine that was once considered a local oddity. Second, six years had passed since I first wrote about the […]
2023: A Summer of Tasting—Episode One
Swiss Natural Wine Festival: Three Years Later As a seasoned taster, you might think the biggest downer to afflict a natural wine event would be the opinions of a few chip-on-the-shoulder wine critics who write for magazines nobody reads anymore. But you would be wrong. The biggest downer, as I recently discovered, is a climate […]
Swiss Grapes: Chasselas—International Grape of Mystery
Several months ago, I made the case there is too much Chasselas in Switzerland. My well-meaning rant was in response to a call from farmers for more government support for those with excess wine to sell—mostly, over-cropped Chasselas. Although I stand by my original thesis—that no one should subsidize inferior wine—I do want to make […]
Chasselas at a Crossroad: The Vaud Rescue Plan
Recently the Canton of Vaud unveiled a new three-pronged plan to help stabilize a wine industry beset by foreign competition and climate-related setbacks. The plan, which runs through 2027, earmarks 25 million francs for new sustainability initiatives, targeted investment in e-commerce and digital infrastructure, and an aggressive, yet undefined, consumer awareness campaign aimed at German-speaking […]
The Last Man Standing — Domaine de Mucelle
It’s not everyday that a two hundred year old international treaty is invoked to settle modern customs and cross-border taxation issues, but France and Switzerland, or more specifically the Republic of Geneva, can break out The Treaty of Paris every now and then as an example. Article One, Section Three of the 1815 Treaty — […]
Book Review: Wines of the French Alps, Wink Lorch (2019)
Wines of the French Alps: Savoie, Bugey and Beyond by Wink Lorch, Wine Travel Media (2019) Wink Lorch’s new book, Wines of the French Alps, is a slap in the face for those who bitch about the current state of wine writing or seek to trivialize wine expertise. This is a full-blown, old-school reference work with all the details a […]
Neuchâtel Non Filtré: Let Yourself Be Disturbed
Every year on the third Wednesday in January, at five-o’clock sharp, there’s a party in the charming Swiss city of Neuchâtel. It’s not a raucous affair with loud music or wild dancing; instead, it’s a dignified civic event with some costume-clad celebrants and some excellent young wine to drink. Good wine, however, is in the […]
Domaine de la Ville de Morges: A Natural Pivot
A wise winemaker/photographer friend given to platitudes offered up the following: A perfectly focused photograph and a flawless wine are of no interest to me. I need more. Buried in there somewhere is the observation that a focused photograph and a flawless wine both require technical proficiency to execute, but, without more, may fail to […]
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