Formed in 1969, Winzerwy is a Cooperative Association started by a group of small Swiss German wine makers to assure quality and improve marketing, The members grow, harvest, vinify and bottle on their own premisis. The Winzerwy trademark guarantees for the finest quality Swiss wines with a recognizable varietal, vintage and Terroir.
Wine Appreciation
A mixture of information and philosophy
Swiss Wine Vintage 2010
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 quantit Read more »
2009 Swiss Wine Guide
Wine information is easy to find. Swiss wine information is somewhat more elusive, and Swiss wine information in English is rare. So I have been eagerly waiting for the release of the first English version of the Swiss Wine Guide. At last it is here. Read more »
2008: a Fine Year for Swiss Wine
"So how good was the 2008 Swiss wine harvest?"
Well, thank you for asking, because it was a close one. The hail storms in some areas of Switzerland didn't cause too much damage, but the bad weather in the early fall had the Swiss wine growers skittish. Fortunately Bacchus proved accommodating. A pleasant Indian summer followed with gentle breezes and sunny days. In the end the Swiss wine growers were more than satisfied.
Warm sunny days and cool evenings are ideal for wine grapes. The grapes are able to mature, develop excellent sugar levels, and be harvested at the best time of the year. Although, "not the best we've seen these past ten years," says Thierry Walz, a member of the Swiss Wine Exporters' Association, but comparable to 2006, one of the best recent vintages. The Chasselas and Pinot Noir grapes particularly benefited.
Yields were 3.5% higher as well, according to the Swiss Department of Agriculture, up roughly 35, 000 hectoliters to 1, 075,561 hectoliters . Read more »
The Wine Grapes of 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
Merlot
Imported from the Bordeaux region, Merlot has found a second home in Ticino where it performs extremely well. Later-ripening than the other main Swiss varieties, it is hardly present in other areas. Merlot red wines are racy, tannic and richly colored. A white wine from this black grape, commercialized as Merlot Bianco, gives quite interesting results and is increasingly popular with producers and consumers alike.
Rèze
Rèze is an extremely rare white variety found only in Valais. Not often produced as a varietal, Rèze is blended with other Vieux Plants of Valais. Rèze was also used to make the historic “vin des glaciers”, an amber colored wine produced in Val d’Anniviers using the solera technique.
No longer done today, one method in the past was to store Rèze in larch wood barrels, which gave the wine resinous flavor similar to the Greek Retsina, and masking some grape flavor.
Drink wine, and you will sleep well. Sleep well and you will not sin. Avoid sin, and you will be saved. Ergo, drink wine and be saved.
Medieval German saying
