Reviews

One bright October afternoon two days before harvest, Swiss winemaker Blaise Duboux chucked a fallen quince over the iron fence girding his terrace and into the sloping vineyard next door. It should have easily rolled 600 precipitous feet down to shimmering Lake Geneva, plied by stately steamers and backdropped by the snowcapped French Alps across the water. But some 40 levels of terraces staircase the hillside, intervening.

By Lauren Mowery in USA Today Travel  / November 2015

Switzerland's vineyards hide in plain sight. It seems impossible that tourists driving around the compact country wouldn't notice the thousands upon thousands of green vines planted neatly across rows of stone terraces, yet Swiss winemakers report exactly that.

Wine Grapes is an indispensable book for every wine lover, carefully researched, written and assembled by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz. Where do wine grapes come from and how are vine varieties related to each other?

On a press trip to the Valais, I became enthralled by stories of rare grape varieties, as related by José Vouillamoz. The trip followed the Digital Wine Communication Conference that took place in Montreux, Switzerland, November 2014. This article, based on this trip but not a  factual report, was first published in Dutch in Bouillon Magazine. The English translation was created for the Update of the Circle of Wine Writers, and edited by Wink Lorch.

Courtesy of Mariëlla Beukers at Wijnkronieken

Vineglorious ! celebrates the world of contemporary fine Swiss wines, from ancient native grape varieties to Switzerland’s extraordinary geography and the handiwork of skilled artisans.

Ellen Wallace is an American journalist established in Switzerland, who embraced the project of explaining Swiss wines to the Anglo Saxon community; her book Vineglorious is a compilation of short and pleasant stories about Swiss wines. The opposite of a boring encyclopedia and yet it is fairly comprehensive, pleasantly written, elegantly designed and well illustrated. While reading it you will learn about the grapes, the terroirs and the swiss wine culture. This book is a lovely Christmas gift for wine lovers. (JFG - sommelier @ swiss fine wine)

As beach season draws to a close (today, September 23rd, is the Fall Equinox, not Labor Day), I want to address a global wine-related epidemic that hits its zenith in summer. Throughout July and August, I visited several white wine producing regions in Oregon, Germany, and Switzerland (the Swiss not only make wine, but I’d argue it’s better than their chocolate and more affordable than their watches). With each vintner visit, our discussion of their carefully crafted whites and demand for their latest vintages inevitably led to the following conclusion: Consumers are sucking them down long before they should be opened. In other words, we drink white wine too young.

By sfw.pro | April 12, 2015

Designed and written by Chandra Kurt, a German Swiss journalist, polyglot, who has published two dozen books on wine. The book “Chasselas from Féchy to Dézaley” was published in 2014 at Orell Füssli.

Le Nez du Vin by Jean Lenoir
By sfw.pro | November 18, 2014

Chasselas is a great variety. Yet must it be said loud and clear to let it be known. A difficult step for Swiss winemakers who struggle to put themselves forward. The challenge is even more difficult due to the fact that the grapes are more typical from the French-speaking wine region and face a significant image deficit. Frequently uprooted, it is too often confined to the ungrateful role of “quaffer” with fondue and raclette as only gastronomic opportunities.