If you’re looking for an example of how the Geneva wine region has come to qualify for Most Improved status since the bad old pre-1990s days, the Cave de Genéve is a good place to start. The cooperative has had a long and not always distinguished record. Starting out in 1929 at one of the low points in Swiss wine history as the Cave de la Souche, it was later to become the Cave du Mandement. This was a mammoth enterprise, responsible for converting around 80 percent of the entire production of the Geneva vineyards into an undistinguished jumble of mass-produced wines. Only its sharply acidic whites, according to a well-worn joke of the time, were highly prized by houseproud Geneva home-owners – for their unique suitability for washing windows.
In 1988 the massive Cave du Mandement was dissolved and in 1994 the Cave de Genéve was born. The newly conceived cooperative was, as today’s director Jérôme Leupin explains, a totally different animal. A nucleus of members remained – 65 of them today, working over 300 hectares – who were willing to sign up to a totally new focus on quality and to cooperate in the investment needed to meet that quality. It signalled the beginning of a new era, not just for the cooperative but for the region in general. “We work for and with our whole region”, says Jérôme. In 2007 the cooperative relocated to new, slimmed-down premises equipped with all the latest winemaking bells and whistles – and a lively, well-patronised shop – on the outskirts of Satigny.
From the gallery of black-and-white portraits of the member-growers displayed proudly on the website and on the wall of the shop attached to the winery, which doubles up as a tasting space and party venue, you can see that this is no ordinary cooperative where the members are just an anonymous bunch of grape producers. “Our growers are real participants”, comments Jérôme. Not only are they closely followed and supported at every step by the Cave in their work in the vineyards, but they may also choose to attend events put on at the winery, ready to explain their work and take questions. These might include a jazz-and-oysters evening lubricated by the house fizz, Baccarat, or a tasting to showcase one of the new grape varieties such as Divico, the recently introduced, disease-resistant variety that is steadily gaining acceptance both amongst the cooperative’s grower-producers and with the public.
Baccarat is their huge seller, the house sparkler made for the past 60 years using the Charmat method (rather than the traditional Champagne method). It provides a very Swiss riposte to Prosecco and is served on SWISS airlines. “Swissness definitely works in our favour in this regard”, remarks Jérôme. The whites are based on Chardonnay and there’s a shell-pink, Pinot Noir-based rosé.
In the middle are the Trésor wines, which include a crisp, zesty Sauvignon Blanc and the newly trendy Divico, while the Clémence line of both whites and reds benefit from a spell in small oak barrels. Winning the Great Gold trophy with the Clémence Merlot in the Mondial du Merlot 2018 competition was a considerable feather in the Cave’s cap and provided a big boost for the members.
The wines that Jérôme describes as the “locomotives” for the Cave de Genève, and which won them an entry ticket into the list of Switzerland’s Top 125 growers in the 2019 Gault Millau Guide, are the products of a singular complicity between star chef Philippe Chevrier of the world-famous Restaurant Châteauvieux – a fervent champion of Geneva wines who devotes a chunk of space to them on his considerable wine list – and Nicolas Bonnet, one of the grower-members of the cooperative. This is a select collection of five wines bearing the chef’s name, all made by the Cave, using only gravity to ensure the gentlest, smoothest passage from crushed grapes to wine and matured for up to a year in small oak barrels. There’s a discreetly buttery Chardonnay, a crisp, citrussy Sauvignon Blanc, a naturally sweet blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Gris, a smoky-spicy Gamaret and – my favourite – a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. All are available in the chef’s various restaurants and shops as well as at the Cave de Genéve.
You still meet people who are stuck in a time warp as regards Geneva wines – including many Genevois themselves – remembering only the bad old days. But perceptions are changing, not only of the wines from the cooperative, which are increasingly appreciated for their quality and value for money, but of the region’s wines in general. The next time you’re in Geneva, take a trip out into the winegrowing villages that surround the city. There’s a vibrant, upbeat wine scene out there where the huge strides made in the past 15 to 20 years together with excitement about the future make this little corner well worth a visit.
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ADDRESS: Rue du Pré-Bouvier 30 1242 Satigny CONTACT: Tel. 022 753 11 33 |
WINES TO LOOK OUT FOR: Baccarat Sauvignon Blanc Trésor Clémence Merlot Les Vins de Philippe Chevrier Chardonnay Les Vins de Philippe Chevrier Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon |
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Price range 6 to 30 SFr. |
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HIGHLIGHTS: Wines are available online and at the winery shop, open Monday to Thursday 7.30–12 and 1.30–5, Friday 7.30–12 and 1.30–4.30. Tasting in Le Cellier Tuesday to Friday, 4–6.30. Regular themed events in Le Cellier with wine and food pairings. Vineyard trail: La Route du Vignoble, around Dardagny |
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