An extensive list and description of grapes used in Switzerland for wine making, including a few rare and indigenous varieties. The grapes here include some of the first grapes cultivated anywhere, and some are found nowhere else.
The list is continuously updated.
| Wine Grapes of Switzerland | ||
|---|---|---|
| WHITE GRAPES Aligoté Altesse Amigne Arvine (Petite Arvine) Auxerrois blanc Bernarda Chardonnay Chasselas Completer Ermitage Fendant Freisamer Gewürztraminer Gouais Blanc Grüner Gutedel Gwäss Heida Hermitage Himbertscha | Humagne Blanch | Sémillon Sylvaner Weisser Burgunder RED GRAPES Bondola Cabernet Sauvignon Cornalin Cornalin d´Aoste Diolinoir Durize Eyholzer Roter Gamaret Gamay Garanoir Goron de Bovernier Humagne Rouge Merlot Mondeuse Oriou Petit Rouge Pinot Noir Rouge de Fully Syrah |
Aligoté
Originates from Burgundy and spread through France. Originally called "Plant du Rhin" when it was brought to Geneva in the early 1900's, and is now something of a specialty in Geneva. It was also introduced into Valais as an alternative to Johannisberg, but it didn't fare so well, and today survives in only a few small areas in Unterwallis.
Style: Nice light dry white
Origin: France
Altesse
More appreciated on its home turf between Lyon and Lake Geneva, it thrives in Valais.
Style: Well rounded, stylish sweet wine
Origin: France
Amigne
Amigne was brought to Switzerland by the Romans. This grape can also produce a Sauternes-like late-harvest wine. These wines are ready to drink in two to three years, but some can be aged.
Style: fine dry wine to elegant and sweet.
Origin: Rome
Arvine (Petite Arvine)
Another delivery from Rome, there are actually three Arvine grape varieties, only two used for wine production: Grand Arvine, with the larger berries, and Petit Arvine, with the, you guessed it, smaller berries. The unloved Arvine brune has faded from the scene. Grand Arvine gets criticized for displaying little character, whereas the Petit Arvine tends to have a fuller bouquet and lower acidity. In blind tasting, Petit Arvine generally kicks ass against its plumper brother. Arvine is also an excellent grape for late-harvest wine, which can be cellared.
Style: Subtle dry or sweet late-harvest style
Origin: Rome
Auxerrois blanc
A clone of the prolific Pinot noir, Auxerrois blanc is a close cousin of Pinot blanc. It comes from the county of Auxerrois, and is best known from Alsace.
Style: Neutral to honey to asparagus
Origin: France
Bernarda, a.k.a. Prié blanc
An old vine, but you won't find it for sale anymore. However it's being experimented with by Jean Nicollier (I’m searching for more references). The Bernarda is a Prié blanc from the Val d'Aosta that may have come into Switzerland over the St. Bernhard pass, and hence the name.
Origin: Italy
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Chardonnay
A vigorous and adaptable vine from Burgundy, Chardonnay grows pretty much everywhere that wine is made. Although production is not so high in Switzerland, award-winning wines have come out of Geneva, Valais and Neuchâtel.
Style: Light and dry through very fruity and complex
Origin: France
Chasselas, a.k.a. Fendant (Valais), Gutedel (German-speaking areas)
In contrast to its native France where it wasn't too successful as a wine grape, the Chasselas shines in Switzerland. Chasselas may be one of the first grape varieties ever cultivated and is the dominant grape grown in Switzerland. Basically neutral in character, it reflects the nuances of the terroirs where it's grown.
Style: gentle and crisp through to full body fruity wines.
Origin: France
Chénin blanc, a.k.a. Pineau de la Loire, Steen (South Africa)
The versatile "Pinot de la Loire" produces some fine wine in Valais. Like the Chasselas, it provides a neutral canvas for the winemaker's art and terroir. Originating in the Loire valley of France, it has no relation or similarity to Pinot blanc.
Style: dry white wines, sparkling wines, dessert wines and brandy.
Origin: France
Completer, a.k.a. Lafnetscha
Completer is probably the same grape as Lafnetscha from Haut-Valais. It is a rare indigenous vine to the Gräubunden area. Used in the Valais and Grisons regions to make aromatic wine blends with some aging ability.
Origin: Indigenous
Ermitage, a.k.a. Marsanne Blanche
See Marsanne Blanche
Fendant, a.k.a. Chasselas
Fendant is a protected designation and may only be used in Valais for wines made from the Chasselas grape. In contrast to its native France, where it wasn't too successful as a wine grape, the Chasselas shines in Switzerland.
Style: gentle and crisp through to full body fruity wines.
Origin: France
Freisamer
The Freisamer plays more of a role in Graubünden but has a small presence is a few other cantons. It’s a hybrid of Silvaner x Pinot gris, developed in Freiburg in the Breisgau region. A temperamental grape, in that it puts great demands on the type of soil and location – do I hear you say “terroir”? – it’s been trying to make a name for itself since the sixties but hasn’t really taken off.
Origin: Germany
Gewürztraminer
The name, Gewürztraminer, is obviously German, although the origin of the grape is the Tyrollean Alps, near the village of Termeno (Tramin) in Alto Adige, Italy. Gewürz is German for spice. The vine is evidently a pain in the ass to grow and does best in cooler climates. In Germany the wine of this grape is often made off-dry, in Alsace it’s dry and floral, and in Switzerland it produces a wide range. Gewürztraminer is one of the most pungent wine varietals and reasonably easy to identify with just your nose. It is one of the few wine that can hold it’s own with spicy Asian food.
Style: Aromatic, off-dry to dry, spicy wines
Origin: Italy
Gouais Blanc
A promiscuous grape. Not good for much, but with a long, long line of descendents, including the noble Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Possibly from Croatia, it’s called Heunisch Weiss in Central Europe. The name Gouais is comes from ‘gou’, which is a scornful word from old French referring to its standing as the grape of the peasants. Very prevalent in the Ile-de-France and in the Champagne during the Middle Ages and perhaps brought into Valais by the descendants of the Ligurians. Acidic and and with little residual sugar, it’s primarily used to blend with low acidic wine to give it a bit of liveliness. Ampelographic studies in the old vineyards of Oberwallis have found a red Gwäss with the same characteristics as the white Gwäss. Almost abandoned, it survives in Haut-Valais hiding under the alias of Gwäss, thanks to Mr. Josef-Marie Chanton, http://www.chanton.ch/home.html
Style: Acidic, used mostly to blend
Origin: Croatia
Gutedel, a.k.a. Chasselas in German speaking region
See Chasselas
Gwäss, a.k.a. Gouais blanc
See Gouais blanc
Heida, a.k.a. Païen, Savagnin or Traminer
From France's Franche-Compté region, is a rarity that is grown in the high vineyards of Visperterminen with the help of the warm Foehn winds. Probably brought into Valais by the Ligurians during their retreat into the mountains.
Origin: France
Himbertscha
Himbertscha is one of the rare indigenous white varieties from Haut-Valais, mostly at home in the vineyards of Visperterminen. The name "Himbertscha" is said to come from a raspberry (himbeer in German) taste of the wine himbeerartigen. Jose-Marie Chanton who specializes in cultivating the old vines from Wallis makes this wine available under the quality label “Brantignon”. He also cultivates the Himbertscharebe, another “rediscovered" old Walliser white wine.
Origin: Switzerland
Humagne blanche
Only planted in Valais today, Humagne blanche is another of the very old Swiss grapes, probably brought in by the Romans. Having a high iron content, and supposedly health-giving properties, this wine was decreed a “health wine” (Krankenwein) for centuries. The old written documents in which this wine is referred to as "vinum hum-anum" date from the 12th and 14th Centuries. It’s also called “Kinderbettenwein” or baby crib wine. I’ll bet those kids didn’t have much to cry about.
No relation to the Humagne Rouge
Origin: Rome
Johannisberg
Second in white wines of Valais (after Fendant). This name Johannisberg is only used in Valais; the rest of French-speaking Switzerland call it Gros Rhin. The grape used to make Johannisberg is the Grüner Sylvaner.
The origin of the grape is not clear. On the one hand it strongly resembles the Roman Apianisien (loved by bees) grape, as described by Pliny the Elder in his "Historia naturalis", on the other hand, it’s more likely birthplace is in Romanian Transylvania.
Origin: Transylvania
Kerner
Named after local poet and physician, Justinus Kerner, the Kerner grape was hybridized in 1929 in Lauffen in the Württemberg region. A hybrid of the white Riesling and the red Trollinger (Schiava grossa), it resembles the Riesling in character.
It is being vinified in limited quantities in Valais, but its future in Valais dosen’t look too bright. It continues to do well in Germany, and on a smaller basis in Austria and Italy.
Style: Aromatic, Riesling-like wines that are lively and acidic with sweet fruity bouquets.
Origin: Germany
Lafnetscha
Here’s an obscure language lesson. The name Lafnetscha is derived from the local dialect. Because the grape is harvested early, it makes for a acerbic wine which should not be drunk too young. In the local dialect, the verb to drink is “gelafft”, so laff-nit-scha is drink-not-already (sort of).
As to the grape, it is one of the oldest in from Haut-Valais. Almost identical to the Blachier, and possible related to the Completer.
Marsanne Blanche a.k.a. Marsanne and Rousanne blanche
Originally from the steep slopes of the Côtes-du-Rhône, the Marsanne blanche grape found it’s way up the Rhone to Valais in Switzerland, and is known here under the name of Ermitage (or Hermitage).
Style: A smooth and full-bodied aperitif and dessert wine, Ermitage is a good wine to lay down.
Vieux Muscat du Pays
A very old small berry Valais grape, difficult to cultivate. It is an aromatic speciality limited almost exclusively to Valais. Some clone or mutation of the Muscat is grown on almost every continent.
Style: Aperitif and dessert wine
Origin: Switzerland
Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains a.k.a. Muscat Canelli
The Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, is one of the oldest grape varieties still around. It’s linked to the Anathelicon moschaton grape used by the Ancient Greeks, and the Apiane grapevines of the Romans.
A white grape, it’s a member of the Muscat family. The name comes from its small berry and tight clusters. It is called Muscat Canelli in Valais, but also goes under lots of names: Muscat Blanc, Moscato Bianco, Muscat de Frontignan, Muscat de Lunel, Muscat d'Alsace, Muskateller, Moscatel de Grano Menudo, Moscatel Rosé and Sárgamuskotály .
Theoretically a white grape, the Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains can also produce berries that are pink or reddish brown.
Style: Dry, light wine through to sweet dessert wines
Origin: Greece (probably)
Malvoisie: see Pinot Gris
Muscat Ottonel a.k.a. Chasselas Saint-Fiacre, Mirisavka, Mirislavka, Muscat de Craciunel Tîrnave, Tamîiosa Ottonel
Muscat Ottonel is a member of the Muscat family. Used for dry wines in Alsace and Hungary, and dessert wines in Austria and Croatia. In Switzerland it is usually used for light, dry wines. It’s parentage is believed to be the Muscat de Saumur and Chasselas.
Style: Dry light through Sweet dessert wines
Origin: France (probably)
Muskat Canelli
Muskat Canelli made its way from Italy to Valais, where it has limited production, and produces a dry white wine.
Style: Dry light through Sweet dessert wines
Origin: Italy (probably)
Nobling
Nobling is a cross between Silvaner and Gutedel (Chassalas) from Staatliches Weinbauinstitut at Freiburg. It’s being tested in Valais and can be found in retail.
Style: fruity and complex wines with a delicate bouquet and fine acidity
Origin: Germany
Pinot blanc a.k.a. Weissburgunder, Fehér Burgundi (Hungary), Pinot bianco (Spain and Italy), Rulandské Bilé (Czech), Rulandské Biele (Slovak)
Pinot blanc is a mutation of pinot gris. It may have found its way up the Rhône to Valais with any number of mercenaries returning to Switzerland, and today small quantities are cultivated in many Swiss wine regions.
When grown in favorable conditions it produces a fruity wine with good acidity.
Style: Light to fruity wine
Origin: Germany
TO Be Continued (and it does go on!)
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Published
Friday, 13 June 2008 11:47
in
Swiss Wine -
Grapes
