Wine has long been valued for its medicinal benefits - it figures in almost all the remedies recorded by Hippocrates, from a general antiseptic to cooling fevers. The grape has been part of the triumvirate of good throughout the middle ages, and the triumvirate is those benevolent institutions: the church, hospitals, and vineyards.
It's rare to describe a museum as “welcoming”, but the Viticulture Museum is welcoming. Located on the peninsula Au (near Wädenswil) on Lake Zürich, the Viticulture Museum is both a museum and a focal point for people interested in Swiss wine and wine making. It offers both a historical perspective as well as addressing changes confronting Swiss winemakers today. On the day I visited they held a demonstration of barrel making, which is an endangered craft: there are currently three barrel makers in Switzerland and only one apprentice.
Established in 1472, the Gasthaus Bad Osterfingen is a large Inn and small wine producer in Schaffhausen (which is close to Zurich). This county restaurant has a beautiful garden, cozy “Säli”, an Art Nouveau banquet room, and two “Bauernstil”, or country-style rooms: a “Stüblli”, and a tasting room.
Have a designated driver, it's not easily accessible with public transport.
Website link to Bad Osterfingen
Scurrying around the Bahnhofstrasse in their blue suits, the Gnomes of Zurich, seem too preoccupied to realize that just outside of town is the largest and most important Swiss wine region in German-speaking Switzerland.
(pronunciation: Zsur-ē-Gshnetz-lets) A satisfying specialty of Zürich, Züri Geschnetzeltes is a ragout made with veal, a white wine sauce, and mushrooms. It is traditionally served with Rösti (Swiss Hash Browns). There are variations with onions, parsley, lemon zest, etc...
As to which wine, well, in that battle I claim neutrality. One side opts for one of the elegant Swiss white wines such as a Pinot Grigio or Grüner Veltliner. The other side prefers the subtle Blauburgunder (Pinot noir). In either case, you won't have trouble finding one made locally.
Genetic studies have revealed that Pinot Noir is probably one of the two ancestors (the other being the humble Gouais) of some of the most important vines cultivated in Europe today. It is certainly a particularly ancient variety, and originally from Burgundy. Pinot Noir, with its associated clones, is found all over Switzerland, but it is only in the eastern region that it dominates production. It is either produced as a varietal or blended with other grapes. These blends are known as Salvagnin in Vaud and Dôle in Valais.
A classic international variety, Cabernet Sauvignon is marginally cultivated in Geneva, Vaud, Valais, and Ticino. With changing climate there are growers, at least in Zurich, planting Cabernet Sauvignon. Besides being vinified as a varietal, it is blended with other Bordeaux grape varieties, or with old Valais varieties.
Weingut Diederik rests on the sunny side of lake Zurich. After a 10-minute stroll from Küsnacht ZH Heslibach, you can treat yourself to wine tasting in the farm’s “Rossstall” (horse stable).
The grapevines here have been cultivated by the Welti family for generations. In 2014, Patricia and Diederik Michel leased the vineyard and opened for business in May of that year.
This small wine producer is located on the shore of the Rhein, in the picturesque town of Eglisau. By using modern wine production techniques and limiting grape yields to between 500 and 600 gr. per m2, Weingut Pircher is able to take advantage of the location to produce fine, distinctive wines.
