The Valais region

The Valaisans have been cultivating vines since the Iron Age. Valais wine-making know-how is nonetheless constantly evolving to meet consumers' quality expectations. In this quest for quality, the Valais brand certifies an ambitious vitivinicultural approach turned towards the future and based on organic viticulture and production that is more respectful of people and heritage. It also guarantees that the entire process "from the vine to the bottle" takes place in Valais.
The native Valais grape varieties are Amigne, Arvine, Cornalin, Humagne and Rèze. The so-called traditional grape varieties are Chardonnay, Humagne rouge, Marsanne, Pinot Gris, Savagnin Blanc, Sylvaner and Syrah. They are present in many wine-growing regions of the world, but nevertheless acquire in Valais a particular and attractive identity.
Valais is distinguished by a formidable range of soils, exposures, climates, in a word, terroirs. It is therefore not surprising that a multitude of grape varieties enjoy ideal conditions for their development.

Here are some explanations so that you can direct your choices and choose your visits. And why not build up a classic Valais cellar, or enrich your carnotzet, for your happiness and that of your guests?

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White wines:

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The “Païen”: When we speak of Païen (Heida in Haut-Valais) it is the Valais name given to the white wine made from the Savagnin grape variety, also called Traminer. One of the mutations of this grape variety is also at the origin of Gewurztraminer. Initially located on the slopes of Visperterminen, up to an altitude of more than 1,100 m (among the highest vines in Europe), Savagnin Blanc is currently making strong progress in Valais Romand.

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The “Rèze” is an alpine grape par excellence. Today it has become an exclusive rarity in Valais.

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“Lafnetscha” is an old grape variety from Haut-Valais, producing complex wines suitable for aging. Its name comes from the dialect form of "laff es nicht schon", meaning: "Do not drink it too early", referring to its aptitude for aging.

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“Malvoisie” (pinot gris): In Valais, this magnificent wine is almost always harvested overripe.

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The “Wine of the glaciers” is as legendary as it is rare. Born from the transhumance of the peasants of the Val d'Anniviers, this beverage has survived the contemporary development of viticulture and is an exceptional witness to the past. The Glacier Wine ages in larch barrels in the cool cellars of the villages of the Val d'Anniviers. It is during the decanting operation that the making of old wine continues. The Glacier Wine of the Bourgeoisie de Grimentz is the best illustration of this. Each year, in May-June, the Glacier barrels are completed, taking seniority into account. Using a very simple siphon system, the oldest barrel is first completed. For example, that of 1886, with the barrel which comes second in the age scale, that of 1888 and so on. This process makes the Glacier a blend of vintages and it is not uncommon to find Vin du Glacier more than a century old.

"Johannisberg": Sylvaner is the second most common white grape variety in Valais. The name comes from the small village of Johannisberg in the Rheingau.

The “Fendant” of Valais: This Chasselas gives a subtle and complex wine. It is also said that it is a typically Swiss grape variety adapted to a multitude of soils and climates of each terroir. The Fendant is an aperitif wine par excellence.

The “Petite Arvine” is the great white wine from Valais with international reputation. Delicate, sensitive to winds, it matures only late and therefore requires the best exposure, preferably not too arid.

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The "Amigne": At the beginning of the 20th century, this grape variety was only found in rare plots and above all on the hillside of Vétroz, its favorite place. A late grape variety, Amigne, caressed by the late-season sun, produces a sumptuous, very rich, syrupy wine with an almost oriental aromatic profile. Its loose and well-ventilated cluster allows it to stay on its feet for a long time.

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The "Humagne Blanc": Very cultivated until the 19th century, it almost disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century, to gradually regain ground. Sensitive, it requires good care and limited yields. If, moreover, it is planted on a beautiful hillside, it can be at the origin of an astonishing wine, very pure, fresh, long, all in elegance and in subtlety, with notes of linden blossom. It was called "wine for women in childbirth" around 1815 because of its high iron content. Adorned with an aromatic profile resembling that of young Fendant, Humagne develops an unexpected dimension with age. To discover absolutely!

You will also discover with pleasure, the Hermitage (Marsanne), Chardonnay, Muscat, Pinot Blanc.

Red wines:

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The "Gamaret": Early, fertile, it resists disease well. Initially designed to give color to blended wines, Gamaret is also excellent on its own.

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The "Diolinoir": Of medium vigor, well resistant to diseases, it is ripe at the same times as most Pinot or Gamay. Swiss grape variety created in 1970, Diolinoir is the result of crossing the Rouge de Diolly (Robin Noir experimentally introduced in Valais in the 1920s) and Pinot Noir.

“Syrah”: Constitutive of the famous Côte Rôtie and Hermitage appellations, Syrah naturally found, going up the Rhône, a second adopted land. Introduced in 1926, it is now in the limelight. Indeed, in the opinion of the most famous critics, headed by the European Grand Jury, it currently competes with the greatest international cuvées (both northern Côtes du Rhône, Australia and California).
In Valais, Syrah gives a wine with a purple color, set with racy tannins. It expresses magnificent notes of spices, black pepper and forest berries. Powerful and noble, it has an aging potential of five to ten years in the best vintages.

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“Pinot Noir” is the most common grape variety in Valais.
It was introduced in the middle of the 19th century by the Council of State, with the aim of boosting Valais viticulture, then in a period of transition. Well thought out, this action resulted in a spectacular increase in the area planted. It must be said that Pinot Noir, an early grape variety, tolerating drought and cold without other, could only succeed in Valais. It gives birth to wines of very varied expressions, witnesses of the great diversity of the terroirs. Pinot Noir is particularly remarkable on the very active limestones of the Salquenen and Sierre region, as well as on the left bank where it benefits from a slightly longer maturation cycle, ideal for the complexity and freshness of its aromas. .
Developed alongside Gamay in the development of Dôle, it gives it structure, nobility and elegance. Thanks to ambitious vinifications, in oak barrels, particularly successful if the yields are controlled, Pinot Noir has also been at the origin of magnificent vintages for a few years.
It is then one of the best red wines of Valais, endowed, in great vintages, with a good aging potential (five to eight years).

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“Cabernet Sauvignon” is one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. Of late maturity, he found in Valais soils and a climate to his liking. It is a colorful, very full-bodied, tannic wine that evokes black berries, tobacco, exotic woods. Long aging in oak barrels makes it harmonious and expressive.
What a pleasure to discover it, most of the time in assembly, in dense, powerful and civilized wines!

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The "Merlot" is one of the medium late varieties. It is cultivated in almost all the major wine-growing countries, has also developed in Valais.
It likes not very arid parcels and finds its ideal conditions on clay soils, often located at the beginning of the slope.
Charming when vinified alone, Merlot brings incomparable flesh and smoothness to the blends.

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The "Humagne Rouge": From a centuries-old cross in the Aosta Valley between Cornalin and an unknown grape variety, Humagne Rouge arrived in Valais via the Grand Saint-Bernard pass. Although its appearance is relatively recent (end of the 19th century), Humagne Rouge is, after Cornalin, the second great red wine with a strong Valais identity.
Vigorous and of late maturity, it produces cuvées with a strong character. The latter seduce with a rustic aromatic profile (wild fruits, undergrowth, bark, violet) and a supple palate on the attack, then tightened on the finish.
A true amateur wine, to drink young, on the fruit. After three to five years in the cellar, it goes perfectly with game.

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The “Gamay”: Its strong reputation in Bas-Valais (Fully-Martigny) is not unrelated to the presence of granite rocks, like the soils of the Beaujolais Grands Crus. A variety of early maturity and medium vigor, it is the basis for wines with a purplish color, very aromatic and lively, with notes of red fruits and spices, fresh and delicious.
Vinified alone, it is the sapid and joyful wine par excellence. In assembly with Pinot Noir, it constitutes the Dôle of which it ensures the freshness, the delicacy and the intensity of the fruit.

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The "Cornalin": Late maturing, capricious, difficult to work with, the Cornalin was almost abandoned in the middle of the 20th century. Fortunately, the patience and perseverance of a few visionary winegrowers allow us to taste it even today! With a fantastic dark cherry color with purple reflections, Cornalin has an extraordinary fruity force, an insolent youth, a body that is both slender and vinous, invigorating and very fresh.
It is undoubtedly the greatest red wine from Valais, with its spicy notes of cloves and fruity notes of black cherry. Delicious young, on the fruit, it develops for a few years: its calm ardor, it then takes on a remarkable patina of finesse and nobility and becomes the ideal companion for any full-bodied meat, such as game.

Rosé wines:

With its warm and sunny climate, Valais is naturally favorable for the production of rosé wines.
It is in the heart of summer that one will make the most of one of the two specialties served very fresh, on a shaded terrace, which are l'OEil-de-Perdrix and Dôle Blanche.

The “OEil-de-Perdrix”, made exclusively from Pinot Noir, has a color that ranges from lightly golden to clearly salmon-colored. The color of this “real” wine (in the sense that it is not the secondary product of the vinification of a red, but a wine in its own right) depends in fact on the duration of the maceration of the grape skins in the must. before fermentation. Racy, velvety, it is often carried, in the mouth, by a beautiful liveliness and can be drunk as an aperitif or with a summer meal (cold dishes, mixed salads, country buffet)
As for the “Dôle Blanche”, it comes from the same grapes as the Dôle, but pressed in white, that is to say without skin maceration. Very pale in color, it has a fruity, ample, vinous palate, with a sometimes slightly tender finish. It represents, so to speak, the link between the charm and freshness of a white wine and the foundation of a red wine. It is therefore ideal as an aperitif, with tapas, Asian cuisine or spicy dishes (even spicy).

Sweet wines:

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Few of the wine regions allow the production of great sweet wines. Valais is part of the big leagues.
Thanks to its exceptional climate, its dry, sunny, hot during the day and cool at night, its morning dews, its various winds including, of course, the inevitable foehn, the Valais allows the grapes an ideal autumnal dryness. This phenomenon is readily accompanied by the development of noble rot (the famous botrytis), a true fairy which generates aromas of indescribable finesse.
The best vines are found on the steepest slopes: perfectly ventilated, they further accentuate the climatic effects and allow the production of world-class sweet wines.
Created in 1996, the Noble ConfidenCiel Grain Charter is closely linked to the success of Valais sweet wines. This association brings together around thirty producers wishing to perpetuate the tradition of the great over-ripened stumps. They undertake to respect a binding regulation based on

the following main points:
- Use traditional Valais grape varieties planted in the best areas and from vines over 15 years old: Petite Arvine, Ermitage, Johannisberg, Amigne, Païen and Malvoisie.
- Achieve a high level of natural sugar in the musts (minimum 130 degrees Oechslé), without enrichment.
- Aging the wines for at least 12 months in wood (oak barrels or tuns).
- Awarding the Grain Noble ConfidenCiel label at the end of an internal tasting which only selects wines with potential considered interesting.

The assemblies:

"Dôle Valaisanne": The essential Dôle Valaisanne is a subtle blend of the two red grape varieties most present in Valais: Pinot Noir and Gamay. It takes on a multitude of expressions depending on the terroirs and producers: always a discovery!