Category Archives: Vineyards in Valais

The Gamaret

This young Swiss grape variety is a recent development, a cross between Gamay and Reichensteiner. It is an early grape, productive and disease-resistant. It was initially planned as a grape that would add colour to blended wines but producers quickly … Continue reading

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The Diolinoir

This is a Swiss grape variety created in 1970, the result of a cross between Pinot Noir and Rouge de Diolly, also known as Robin Noir, introduced into Valais in the 1920s. It is a plant of medium vigour, with … Continue reading

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Humagne Rouge

This variety comes from an old cross made in Val d’Aosta, Italy, between Cornalin and an unknown variety. Humagne Rouge was introduced in Valais via the Great Saint Bernard pass at the end of the 19th century. Despite its recent … Continue reading

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Syrah

Syrah is the grape behind France’s famous Côte Rôtie et Hermitage appellations. In climbing back up the Rhone river this grape has, not surprisingly, found a second home. It was brought to the canton in 1926 and is currently all … Continue reading

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Gamay

Gamay, like Pinot Noir from which it is a genetic mutation, was introduced into the canton during the major restructuring that went on in the 19th century. Its excellent reputation in the Lower Valais, around Fully and Martigny, is linked … Continue reading

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Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is the most widely planted grape in Valais. It was introduced in the middle of the 19th century by the canton’s governing council in order to regenerate the wine industry, which was going through a period of transition. … Continue reading

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Vineyards in the Valais – A Brief History

THE IRON AGE (800 – 15 BC) The First Traces of Wine Long before Roman times, wine had already been part of the consumption habits of the local elite. It is very likely that our neighbours in North Italy and … Continue reading

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Viticulture – A Hisorical Aperçu

  The municipality archives enable us to look back in the history of the viticulture in Nax. Families in Nax have made their own wine since the 15th century. We actually find the first entry in the year 1478. It describes the … Continue reading

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Vineyards

Vineyards, end October, seen from above in Nax.

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Viticulture

The Canton of Valais has 5259 hectare of vineyard and is the biggest grape-producing regions in Switzerland. Most of the vine parcels are established on the slopes on the right Rhône banks on a length of 120 (!) kilometers from … Continue reading

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