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Touring through Switzerland

Ashwini Patil Avate

Posted On Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 11:47:09 PM

It was day two in lovely Switzerland. After a nice breakfast of yummy Swiss croissants with some good coffee and crisp alpine air we were ready to hit the road again and visit the canton of Valais, which has approx 5300 Hectares of vine.

The first stop for the day was Cave Gerald Besse. This domain has 16 hectares of vineyards located on the slopes of the Alps with 14 different grape varieties. The landscape here is breath taking. The viticulture here is a heroic profession due to this steep terrain.

The main wines produced here are Les bans from Chasselas; Petite Arvine which is a local grape variety that is popular here. La Dole is another wine made from Pinot Noir, Gamay, Diolinoir and Gamaret.

The interesting thing about our next visit was that there is no direct access by road to the vineyard, one has to go through a small private 60 metre-long tunnel (enough for one person to walk) to reach the vines, along the sides of the mountain.

On the other side of this tunnel we found, to our absolute amazement vines planted at a steep gradient. In the middle of this slope was a small restaurant almost hanging over the deep valley below.

It was lovely; a table was laid out under a canopy of grape vines to shield us from the not-so-warm summer sun! It was like being in heaven and it only got prettier once the delicious Raclette (a swiss delicacy made of molten cheese eaten with potatoes and pickled cucumber/onions) was served with the wines to compliment it. This property was called Robert Gilliard.

This 40-hectare-property was first established in 1885. It is located on the right bank of the river Rhone. The entire vineyard is made on terraces with the help of old 20-metre-high stone walls.

They use helicopters for treating their plants. We tasted seven wines, the local grape varieties are Chasselas, Petite Arvin, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Diolinoir, Ermitage and Malvoisie. They have a very modern cellar which was a treat to visit as well.

With only a day left we were nearing the end of this month-long study tour. My Master Vintage classmates and I, had over the days sealed our year-long acquaintance with this voyage across the European countryside. It was a time to cherish forever. Until next time! Cheers!

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Uncorked

Touring through Switzerland

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