Unsure whether you’ve ever drunk a Chasselas wine before? There’s a high probability. Over 60 per cent of the vineyards in Vaud are planted with this white variety. The fact that you’re still not entirely sure may be due to the fact that its name is hardly ever on the label. So the wines produced from this queen of the white wines bear the name of the terroir on which they grow: Vinzel, Féchy, Epesses, St-Saphorin, Yvorne or Aigle.
The second largest Swiss wine-growing region, Vaud includes the areas of La Côte (along the western side of Lake Geneva), Lavaux (from Lausanne to Vevey and Montreux), Chablais (from Villeneuve to Yvorne and Aigle as well as around Bex) and the north with Bonvillars, Côtes de l’Orbe and Vully around Lake Murten.
Oenological research has clearly proven that the Chasselas grape has its origins on Lake Geneva. In the rest of the world, the grape is now cultivated as a food grape. Only the winemakers of Vaud are seemingly able to make wine from it – top wines, by the way, which are of high quality both young and aged. Equally popular: red wines made from Gamay and Pinot noir.
By the way: The famous Vevey Winegrowers’ Festival, the «Fêtes des Vignerons», is held every 25 years in honour of viticulture – most recently in 2019, welcoming over a million visitors!
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