This year’s Mémoire & Friends tasting relocated to the slightly outré District 5 neighborhood of Zürich—and the Schiffbau event center—from its usual home in the staid lakefront area. The event even adopted the aura of an alternative wine fair because of it. I quite enjoyed it, except for the hot weather and cramped quarters. But […]
Tag: Swiss Wine
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 Rose By Any Other Name: The Confusing State of Grapes in Switzerland
Every time I travel to the States people want to know about Swiss wine. Many will ask without realizing that they already have some near iron-clad mis-information to overcome. One of the most common errors is a simple one: confusing Vaud with Valais, and vice versa. Others are surprised to learn that Riesling is not […]
Opinion: The True Cost of Cheap Wine — An Update
Back in April I wrote a piece titled The True Cost of Cheap Wine in which I set out to advance the narrative that cheap, industrially made wine has cost consequences beyond the obvious. It was easily the most read piece in these humble pages, inspiring both praise and criticism alike. While it is the avowed purpose […]
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 […]
Mondial du Chasselas: Les Palmarès 2017
Whatever you call it—the Super Bowl of chasselas, the World Cup of fendant or the NBA Finals of gutedel—make no mistake, this is the Grand Daddy of them all: the Mondial du Chasselas. Sporting analogies are particularly apropos in this, the year of the upset. Never one to flinch at competition, I answered the call […]
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 […]
Profile: Cave Caloz (Miège, Valais)
A recent visit to Miège was my first trip to the vineyards since the devastating frosts of late April. From all reports I expected worse but was still struck by the sheer randomness of it all. Spring began optimistically with an early bud break, courtesy of a lengthy and uncharacteristic warm spell, followed by an […]
Four From La Cinquième Glorieuse: Martigny 2017
This annual event grew out of frustration and two canny wine lovers’ need for organization. Old friends and fellow amateurs, Nicolas Reuse and Christophe Roch, grew frustrated with the time they spent wandering the vineyards of Valais just to keep up with old contacts and new releases. Things became untenable—there were simply too many important visits […]
Swiss Wine: Make It Good and They Will Come
2017 is beginning to feel like a breakout year for Swiss wine. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate kicked things off in January (Issue 228) with a comprehensive tasting of Swiss wine, a friendly tip of the hat to our local pinot noir, a gala gathering of the clan at its Matter of Taste event in Zürich and an implied […]
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