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 […]
Tag: Geneva
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 […]
Profile: Domaine Dugerdil, Dardagny, Geneva
From the top of the slope in Dardagny (see header photo) there is so much to see. There are the undulating vineyards, of course, and the sleeping-cat form of Mont Salève in the distance. Close by is a mystical place of geological importance — the end of the Jura and the beginning of the Alps. […]
Mondeuse: The Ghost of Grapes Past
The landscape of Swiss vineyards offered a more complicated puzzle in 1880 than it does today. Not only did viticulture suffer a massive decline during the decades of phylloxera infestation, it endured a mass migration from north to south and an alarming loss of diversity. First, some statistics. Zürich’s area under vine fell from 5,279 […]
Clos des Gondettes (Satigny, Geneva)
Look at a current political map of Europe and you might notice the outline of a limp handshake (choose your own piece of anatomy) where western Switzerland meets France. It looks limp for a reason. As a one time exclave—entirely surrounded by France and the old Duchy of Savoy—Geneva existed as an on-again, off-again city-state […]
Three from Geneva: A Contrast in Styles
When the Three Bears of porridge fame attend a wine tasting their scribbled notes might read something like this: Chasselas number one is too light; Chasselas number two is too heavy; but Chasselas number three—ahhh, that one’s just right. After my recent trip to the Vinumrarum event in Bern, I can relate. Among the numerous family […]
A Wine of Note: Domaine de la Vigne Blanche, Cologny, Geneva
Sauvignon Blanc, Réserve de la Commune de Cologny 2016, Domaine de la Vigne Blanche, Geneva Anyone who follows these pages knows that I’m not a fan of sauvignon blanc from Switzerland. It makes no sense to me that Swiss winemakers bother with it when there is so much great sauvignon available from places that specialize […]
A Wine of Note: Domaine du Clos des Pins (Dardagny, Geneva)
Gamaret, Mandragore 2013, Domaine du Clos des Pins, Dardagny, Geneva I was introduced to this wine by the sommelier at Le Philanthrope, an excellent new restaurant near Plainpalais in Geneva, as a potential match for a course of raw milk cheese. I hesitated for two reasons: I prefer white wine with cheese and I’m not the […]
Some New Wine from Geneva’s “Monsieur Natural”: Paul-Henri Soler
It’s been awhile since I last visited with Paul-Henri Soler (see: Profile) so I recently caught up with him at his usual Saturday haunt, the Carouge Farmer’s Market in Geneva. Unlike a lot of wine on offer at such venues, Paul-Henri’s are really attention-grabbing and worth exploring. He’s very engaging and encourages impromptu tasting among […]
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