Geneva’s seductive backside
Genève Terroir, for the past few years, has asked me to translate an information sheet and questions for their August Gourmand Rallye, an event that attracts 700 food and wine-loving hikers split over a Saturday and Sunday. Note: it’s fully booked almost immediately after ticket sales open, so get on their mailing list and sign up when they announce the next one.
The idea is to introduce people to local products … This year I finally asked if I could join the rally, thinking that at the very least I would have a 12 km hike through a part of the Swiss wine landscape I don’t know well … (photos and complete article here)
Wine, Divico
Fifth Divico wine tasting 25-26 August 2022 in Bramois, Valais, open to the public
Divico, the wine from the grape named after a Swiss mythical hero, has come into its own - I had a lovely version of it while hiking the Geneva Rallye Gourmand, at Crève Coeur winery in Choulex. Divico is a PIWI grape, a multi-resistant crossing between Gamaret and Bronner grapes (and no, these are not genetically modified, but rather hybrids). It was created in Switzerland by Agroscope researchers in Pully and came onto the market in 2013. Interest has grown since, as more wineries seek to reduce their environmental impact, and grapes of the future become a buzz topic.
I took part in a professional tasting of some 40 Divico wines in Bramois, Valais in 2019. Most left me indifferent; the one wine that stayed in my mind, equal to a good Gamaret, came from cantonal cooperative, Cave de Genève. Since then its Trésor Divico has done well in international competitions. It’s a full-bodied fruity red wine with dark fruit (cherries, blackberries) notes and soft, rounded tannins. So when I had my second Divico moment while walking the Rallye Gourmand, I wasn’t surprised to see that the winery, Crève Coeur, works closely with the Geneva cooperative. I asked winemaker Jean Rivollet if he thinks they’ve come of age. Yes, indeed: “We’ve learned which are the best yeasts and how to work with the grape”, and the result, I think, is impressive. His Divico is has a nose of ripe plums and a velvety mouth. It was served during the Rallye with goat cheese, a tomme and an alpage Gruyère, with fragrant dried fruits and nut bread.
Divico has also taken to the road - British wineries that would like to diversify (70% of their production goes to sparkling wine) are finding that Divico offers them good potential for hearty red wines.
Dry, dry, dry
Dry wine is good. Dry, too dry, vineyards are not. The talk in the wine world everywhere this summer has been about drought. The impact of it, what if anything to do about it. Where we’re headed. Tam Curran at Jancis Robinson points out that old vines do better in high heat periods. Stuart Pigott has been keeping an eye on the drought problems of German-language regions for Trinkmag.com. Here in Switzerland, Blaise Duboux, organic vigneron in Lavaux, canton Vaud, told me last week that they are all worried about the young vines, whose roots are not yet established and deep enough to reach water.
Crans-Montana with other communes has just announced what promises to be a hotly debated plan to develop new water resources - the Plaine Morte glacier has melted at three times the usual rate this summer and the river from it that is a principal source of water to the resort region has gone dry. It had already begun to flow mainly down the other side of the mountain, to Bern. The plan involves trying to use the Tseuzier dam near the resort for drinking water and irrigation; the dam was built only to supply electricity. Without glacier-fed streams on the Valais side of the mountain range, agriculture will disappear. Thirsty Valais vines in this largest of Swiss wine production areas will be under threat unless solutions are found, among other problems.
The Alps short of water? Hard for many to believe. And yet, the implications of severe drought for European wine production isn’t news; we’re simply waking up to it. Wine writer Jamie Goode, who has a strong background in science and technology, was sounding the alarm in 2012. Sobering to read it again now.
Swiss rice
Your next Asian dish or risotto might have a home-grown touch, if you live in Switzerland, with the number of rice paddies on the rise. Ticino has been growing rice for 90 years, not that surprising when you remember how important risotto is in this Italian-speaking corner of Switzerland. Settamaggio, an organic winery not far from Bellinzona, sells a tasting box with wines and its organic rice. The Maggia Delta near Locarno produces rice in what is reportedly the lowest rice-growing area in the world, at 198 masl. A group of newcomer rice-growers in Aargau in north-central Switzerland include Fredy and Pirmin Umbricht, who also get top marks for their wine. And not Swiss rice, but rice in Switzerland: the first rice festival in Martigny 27 August features rice dishes from 11 producer countries.
Coming up
Events of interest
Official launch of my book Wine Hiking Switzerland (French version is Randos vin en Suisse, German is Weinwandern Schweiz), published by Helvetiq. Joined by Jean-Paul Schwindt, author of a new book in French that looks at the challenges facing Swiss wineries working in an increasingly international context. Thursday, 8 September, 50-minute hike from Aubonne to Chasselas World Conservatory in Perroy for a glass of wine and your chance to buy books signed by the authors - join us! You’re allowed to skip the hike, by the way.
Tavolatas Day in Valais, 3 September 2022 - sign up soon, as places are going quickly. Beautiful long tables, great weather of course and excellent wine - this is the theme for the Estivales festival in Valais, with numerous cellars open for wine-tasting.
Grape harvest: go to work! Swiss Wine Promotion is behind a nationwide effort to get wine-lovers out in the vineyards to help with the harvest. Learn and taste what you’ve just learned. 1 October, 2022
Mark on your calendar, Semaine du Goût (good taste week), 15-25 September 2022, with scores of events throughout Switzerland.
Here and there
Drink wine, and don’t forget the water. An adult needs about 700 mg of calcium a day. Milk isn’t the only source. Did you know that mineral water, which Switzerland has in abundance thanks to alpine rock, is a good source of calcium? Just turn on the tap or compare bottled waters.
Hikers and just about anyone who loves maps and is considering a trip in Switzerland: try creating your own custom-made Swiss maps using SwissTopo’s mySwissMap service, and the paper version will arrive quickly by mail.
The cashew is top of my list for nuts - salted and popped in your mouth, stir-fried with chicken, in trail mixes with dried cranberries. Here’s a great article to turn upside down much that you think you know, starting with: it’s not a nut.