The End of Summer Approaches Another month is in the books and new experiences are ready to share. The August round-up focuses on Geneva which I'm told I don't pay enough attention to. I actually do have plans to profile a couple of Geneva producers so please stay tuned. Later this month my profiles of […]
Tag: Valais
Wine with Dinner: Randomly Chosen in July
August is summer vacation month in Europe but there will be no let up on these pages. There’s always a lot of wine to taste, especially with the Weber grill at peak capacity, and wineries to visit. August will take me on a couple of excursions: first to Graubünden and Weinguts Donatsch and Adank in […]
Mondial du Chasselas: Les Palmarès 2016
Chasselas is about balance: Terroir, but not too much; Fruit, but not too much; Round and full, but not too much; Acidic, but not too much.—Stéphanie Delarze in Chasselas Forever The History While most of the world is content to eat chasselas out of hand the Swiss are hard at work transforming its golden-hued berries […]
A Wine of Note: Domaine Denis Mercier
Pinot Noir 2015, Anne-Catherine & Denis Mercier, Valais In a previous post—An Honest Attempt to Debunk the Myth That Swiss Wine Is Expensive—I argue that Switzerland may well offer the world’s best value for money proposition in pinot noir. Well, even before the ink is dry, I have a contender for the best pinot noir […]
In Memoriam: Jacques Granges 1946-2016
Jacques Granges the iconic Pied Piper of biodynamics in Switzerland is dead following a tragic accident in his beloved vineyards above Fully. Monsieur Granges was known as an uncompromising champion of sustainable agriculture, worked tirelessly to improve the health and vitality of his soils and was an advocate for clean, minimally processed food and wine. […]
The Raw Wine Fair: London 2016 — The Swiss Guard
London is on fire. Apart from its wildly popular tourist attractions, London has evolved into a world-wide advert for provenance-based food sourcing as practiced by hundreds of its ardent chef believers. Quality local and regional foodstuffs are flourishing, family farms are reawakening and sustainable farming practices are restoring the health of the land. Just as […]
MDVS 2016: Part 2 – Red Wine
Part Two of my tasting at the MDVS event staged at Geneva’s newly restored Hôtel Beau-Rivage focuses on red wine. Once again I did not taste everything but can recommend these as being among the best wines of the day. Cabernet and Blends Domaine Grand’Cour (Satigny, Geneva): This ambitious winery draws a lot of inspiration […]
MDVS 2016: Part 1 – White Wine
Mémoire des Vins Suisse—Geneva 2016 After 40 years and more than a thousand wine tastings later—after countless wine dinners, winery visits, seminars, panels, junkets and bottles opened at home—I am finally ready to confess that two of my favorite wine events ever are the two most recent MDVS gatherings: Mémoire and Friends in Zürich and […]
A Wine of Note: Valentina Andrei
Fendant 2014, Valentina Andrei, Valais (chasselas) On a quick visit to one of my favorite wine stores, Le Passeur du Vin in Geneva, I came across this little bit of history modestly floor-stacked among the new arrivals: the first vintage from Valentina Andrei’s eponymous winery. A transplanted Romanian, Ms. Andrei is already a bit of […]
Profile: Domaine Denis Mercier (Sierre, Valais)
The train ride from Geneva to Sierre is a must do for every train lover and wine enthusiast. In an amazingly short two hours some of the world’s most jaw-dropping vistas are at hand. First up, the spectacular vineyards of the Canton Vaud and the UNESCO World Heritage Site vineyards of Lavaux. As a backdrop, […]
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