Sierre, Switzerland
A birthday party for my good friend Yuko, organised by her Aussie husband Bob, gave me the occasion to visit the Swiss town of Sierre which is in the heart of the Valais canton in southern Switzerland.
The Valais is home to the pyramid-shaped Matterhorn mountain, the resort town of Zermatt and upper Rhône River Valley vineyards.
As the train from Lausanne winds its way up towards Sierre, it passes through the dramatically beautiful Rhône river valley. It is amazing to see vineyards climbing up mountain slopes, especially around the town of Sierre. Sierre has a long history of winemaking and is home to the Rèze grape used to produce the sherry-style Swiss wine, Vin des glaciers.
I went for a little walk along the hill slopes. It is the most physically demanding wine walking that I have ever done.
How could such an alpine country also be at the centre of Swiss winemaking? One reason is that Sierre has an average of 300 days of sunshine a year, giving it the nickname of City of the Sun.
The valley also benefits from its sheltered position below the high alpine peaks, with the most obvious bonus being the fohn wind, which keeps the area unusually warm and dry considering its altitude (most vines grow here at between 460 and 760m).
The steepness of the slopes, up to 42 degrees, might make it harder to manage and harvest the vines, but it brings the significant benefits of excellent drainage and increased exposure to sunlight.
The Valais is the largest wine region and appellation in Switzerland, responsible for around one third of the country’s total wine production.
Pinot Noir (just under 30 percent) and Fendant/Chasselas (17 percent) are the main varieties grown in this iconic alpine region, although it boasts well over 50 different varieties.
I only tasted one Valais wine, that being “Petite Arvine”, a white wine grape. Petite Arvine has a reputation as a high-class grape variety, and is seen as the best white wine grape of the Valais.
While it comes as a dry, medium-dry and sweet wine, I tried a dry one, which was delightfully fresh and crisp. It went perfectly with our entrees, although I think that it would also go down nicely as an aperitif.
Over dinner, I also had the good fortune to befriend a local politician, Serge, who very kindly advised me about the excellent sweet wines (vins liquoreux) from the region. So I bought a bottle of 2018 “Rouvinez Les Grains Nobles, Valais, Switzerland”. This wine is a blend (“assemblage”) of the Marsanne, Pinot Gris, and Petite Arvine grape varieties. This 2018 vintage was awarded Or from the Vinalies Internationales,
As with many of my wine walk adventures, the big lesson is that I must go back and walk more of the region.