Early opinion of the 2009 Swiss wine vintage was “promising”, but by the end of the year, the federal agriculture department near Nyon officially declared it as “excellent” for both quality and quantity. For most of Switzerland, the weather played nice. The early budding in spring, helped by a hot and dry June, led to quick flowering. A dry late summer and early fall helped the grapes mature well, and the weather stayed friendly for the harvest. There were some problem patches: for example, a 15-minute hail storm in July in the La Côte region damaged some vine parcels. But generally, the good season made up for it, with the nearly 15,000 hectares of vines in Switzerland yielding 1.1 million hectoliters, 35,000 more than the previous year.
Fine Swiss Wine Topic: