DR JOSÉ VOUILLAMOZ
GRAPE GENETICIST AND CO-AUTHOR OF WINE GRAPES: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO 1,368 VINE VARIETIES, INCLUDING THEIR ORIGINS AND FLAVOURS
My homeland Switzerland is a tiny wine country with a huge diversity of soils, climates and grape varieties. On its mere 15,000 hectares, more than 250 grape varieties are officially cultivated, which probably constitutes a world record. This is nothing to be proud of, in and of itself: diversity does not create identity – but it does create excitement. And Swiss wines certainly have plenty of excitement to offer. With exports stagnating at around a meagre one percent, however, very few people outside Switzerland know that the Swiss have been making wine since before the Roman era.
Among the few foreigners who have tasted Swiss wines, many have done so during a visit to the country, and some reduce the country’s offerings to dull Chasselas and acidic Pinot. But Switzerland has so much more to offer! The well-informed amateur will seek out the aromatic Petite Arvine from the Valais, the Pomerol-like Merlot from Ticino, the Burgundy-like Pinot from Graubünden, the Chasselas-based Dézaley and Calamin Grand Cru from Vaud, and many more. However, only the geekiest oenophile will have ever heard of super-rare varieties like Himbertscha, Lafnetscha, Räuschling and Bondola. When I first met Sue Style in 2013 at the birthday party of our mutual friend Josef-Marie Chanton, nicknamed the “grape archaeologist” for his work in rescuing several of these ancient local varieties, I was shocked to find that she already knew them all! Ninety-nine percent of the Swiss people themselves have never heard of them.
Since then, I have seen Sue at numerous wine events around Switzerland, and we’ve had the opportunity to enjoy many a fine meal together in the gourmet restaurants of the Valais region. I have always been impressed by Sue’s writing skills, as seen for example in her excellent articles in Decanter. I have no doubt that she qualifies as the best person to help you discover the wonderful Swiss grape varieties and the unique wines of this tiny country.