I love many and appreciate most that I've tried, but want to learn more, so any opinions welcome. No snobbishness please :-)
Please tell us your favorites. Appellation/area, producer, grape, supplier.
Bianco Rovere: Ticino, Guido Brivio, (white) Merlot, Globus and others (Coop in Lugano)
Aigle Les Murailles: Valais, Badoux vins, Chasselas, Manor and others
Humagne Rouge is the best Swiss red in my opinion.
I like the Dole Des Monts Robert Gilliard S.A. from Sion, AOC 2011. It's a not too expensive, decent red from Valais.
Their white is also one of my favourites.
I'm a big Pinot Noir fan. Try 'Pinot Noir R' or maybe ZWAA from Ruedi Baumann in Schaffhausen. If you prefer Merlot, then Daniel Huber's Montagna Magica is fabulous (Here's a video where he describes it: Montagna Magica Video
Preference here is a few select special wines from a winery in Salgesh.
My personal favorites are Humagne Rouge, Syrah, Merlot, Non-Filtre (!) and the Sélection specials from the masters themselves.
JC
Tried this the other evening - can recommend
I can't find a red wine that surpasses my enjoyment and loyalty to a Rioja or Amarone, if anyone has any suggestions that can match up then do share.
Best wines, in my region of Unterland, are made in this little Winery
http://www.kramer-weine.ch/index.php
I`ve tasted wines from all around the region, and haven`t found better than the various Kramer wines.
Maybe I`m biased by how hard he works, and how dedicated he and his Mom are to the winemaking. It`s an old traditional wine-making family.
Their open days for degustation are always most enjoyable.
Switzerland is a 'cool climate' winegrowing region and it is hard to imitate wines from 'hot climate' regions here. I know that Fernand Cina in Salgesch has planted some Temperanillo, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese on a piece of rock above the village where it gets particularly hot. Have not tried it though. I also know that a few winemakers are experimenting with drying their grapes like you would for an amarone (e.g. Stefan Gysel in Hallau), but it is still cool climate grape varieties grown in a cool climate - I like his wine, but it is not an amarone.
This is pretty good indeed, bought it today in Coop for CHF 16.
Interesting, thanks.
I agree with the general comments about the climate. I've found Swiss wines almost universally pleasant and well made, but those widely available just don't have the complexity to bear comparison with the classics.
I find Ticino merlot offers decent 'bang for the buck'. Always loads of fruit -- more like upper class gamay wines (e.g. the single village Beaujolais) -- than the meaty merlots of hotter climates like California.
I suspect there are odd pockets of vines that do produce something really special but you probably have to know the wineries personally, as some of the above seem to!
I had an organic Ticinese merlot in a restaurant a couple of years ago, unfortunately I don't have a clue what it was called but it was bloody delish.
I'm nowhere near a wine connoisseur beyond the highly subjective " I like that one, I'll buy some more ". Would you happen to know some types that I could hunt out and see if I can track it down again?
I have a preference for
- grape = Blauburgunder
- areas = Stein am Rhein, Andelfingen, Bündner-Herrschaft,
-- Küsnacht/ZH, Bielersee, Lavaux, Geneva
There is a problem with the combination of sorts and height. "Southern" sorts done in the Veltlin/Valtellina should be consumed at above 800 meters as they if consumed in "normal" areas lose a lot of their unique flavour.
If it was red wine, it most likely was a sort of Merlot del Ticino. Just as in the Merlot in the Ticino, the Gamay dominates in Geneva
Cannot provide all requested information, but anyway:
Whites: St. Saphorin (reg. Lavaux), Johannisberg (generally Valais)
Reds: Pinot Noir (reg. Salgesch), Gamay Romand (sorry, no idea)
I threw away the bottles, so I don't know the manufacturer.
you got it quite correctly. The AOC
AOC bei Schweizer Weinen
Im Jahr 1988 wurde für Schweizer Weine erstmals eine AOC-Regelung eingeführt. Das erfolgte für die Terroirs im Kanton Genf . Das Wallis und die Neuenburger Region folgten 1990, das Tessin 1997 (hier DOC genannt, Denominazione di origine controllata). [[2]](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appellation_d%E2%80%99Origine_Contr%C3%B4l%C3%A9e#cite_note-ch_vin-2)
Die Auszeichnung mit der Appellation kann vom Kanton (beispielsweise AOC Valais ) oder von der Gemeinde (beispielsweise AOC Yvorne ) vergeben werden. Damit ein Wein dieses Prädikat erhalten kann, müssen vom jeweiligen Winzer strenge Produktionsrichtlinien erfüllt werden. Diese können in den Regionen differieren, sind aber in der Regel auf folgende Parameter orientiert: Bestockung, Dichte der Rebstöcke , Ertrag pro Quadratmeter, geringer Zuckergehalt (abgestimmt nach Rebsorte) sowie Verfahrensdetails bei der Herstellung. In den für Weinbau relevanten Kantonen sind hierzu Gesetze erlassen worden. Dabei werden auch nach Rot- und Weissweinen differenzierte Beschränkungen für die Erträge auf dem Quadratmeter festgelegt, um die erwünscht hohen Qualitätskriterien zu sichern. [[2]](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appellation_d%E2%80%99Origine_Contr%C3%B4l%C3%A9e#cite_note-ch_vin-2)
Um die Spitze der Qualitätsweine deutlicher hervorzustellen, werden zusätzliche Attribute nach ergänzenden strengen Bestimmungen verliehen. Im Kanton Genf ist das AOC Premier Cru , im Kanton Valais ist es AOC Grand Cru und im Kanton Waadt werden sie in mehreren Abstufungen vergeben. Das Qualitätslabel des Tessins lautet Viti und steht für Vini Ticinesi und kann nur an Merlot -Weine vergeben werden. Der Kanton Neuenburg ermöglicht kantonale, kommunale oder regionale Appellationen. In den Deutschschweizer Kantonen wurden auch AOC-Prädikate eingeführt, zunächst im Aargau , in Luzern , Schaffhausen und St. Gallen . [[2]](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appellation_d%E2%80%99Origine_Contr%C3%B4l%C3%A9e#cite_note-ch_vin-2)
WAS introduced in various cantons but not on a federal level, and so, few people really notice. I expect that Switzerland in the end will take over the far more exact German categorization
For a white wine my experience is that you cant go wrong with anything from Mont Sur Rolle.
Baccarrat from cave Geneve is a very acceptable and well priced bubbly (champagne) wine.