AmericanWinery.com

Although Switzerland produces a reasonable amount of wine and ranks as one of the top twenty wine-producing countries, few Swiss wines are seen outside the country. There are several reasons for this including the fact that the Swiss consume between 21⁄2 and 3 times what they produce. Their wines are also generally expensive by international standards, and they produce many wines that are specialized for the Swiss market and not widely accepted elsewhere. Like its culture, Switzerland’s growing areas can be segmented into French-, German-, and Italian-speaking cantons. The French-speaking cantons include the primary vineyard areas of Vaud and Valais, and Geneva, the only canton to introduce a comprehensive appellation system. (Vaud has introduced a less-strict version.) The most productive German-speaking cantons are Zürich and Schaffhausen. The most notable Italian-speaking canton is the Ticino or Tessin. Chasselas (also known as Dorin, Fendant, and Perlan in various parts of Switzerland) is Switzerland’s most widely planted white grape. Generally, it produces neutral, low-acidity, low-alcohol wines that reflect the flavor of the soil in which they’re grown. The Swiss like Chasselas wines, although they’re not popular outside the country. Red wines are made predominantly with Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes, which are often blended together into a wine called Dôle (see Valais). In the Italian areas, Merlot is the most popular red grape. Other varieties grown in Switzerland include Amigne, Arvine, Barbera, FREISA, Humagne, Johannisberger (Riesling), Malvoisie de Valais (Pinot Gris), Pinot Blanc, and Riesling-Sylvaner (Müller-Thurgau).