Himbertscha is one of the rare indigenous white varieties from Haut-Valais, mostly at home in the vineyards of Visperterminen (Upper Valais). 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.
Big and Small Graubünden
Tucked in the southeast corner of Switzerland is Graubünden, or Grisons. In the north of the canton, between Bonaduz und Fläsch, is its main wine area the Bündner Herrschaft. It is here, thanks to its geographic situation and the Föhn, that some of the best red wines in German-speaking Switzerland come from, and its speciality is the Blauburgunder (Pinot noir). Although over 80% of the wine from Graubünden is red, they also produce some fine white wines, including a bit of sweet Freisamer wine.
Graubünden is not a small canton, but everything in it seems to be. The total area under grape cultivation is just over 400 Hectares (ha); the entire area of Misox only has around 30 ha. Here the 380 vintners, some with only a couple ha, pursue their craft, and a majority of them (62 %) do their own vinification and marketing. Many of them are working together in various organizations to share logistic and promotional resources.
Trivia: Graubünden is the only canton of Switzerland with three official languages: German (54%), Romansh (31%), and Italian (15%).
The Wine Grapes of Switzerland
Himbertscha
Durize
Durize is a red wine grape, possibly indigenous, grown in the Valais district of Switzerland
Bondola
An indigenous and ancient red grape from Ticino, Bondola has slightly higher acidity and lower alcohol, and produces a good simple table wine, often called Nostrano.
In vino veritas.
Pliny the Elder
