Seems whenever I see anything about Swiss wines it starts with the high price. Odd that reading about Swiss wine within Switzerland that issue hardly comes up. Remember our old friend the rule of supply and demand? Of course the prices are high outside of Switzerland . Duh, the Swiss want to drink it themselves. Less than 2% is exported, and most of that goes to Germany. As a matter of fact, much is drunk locally. If you want Swiss wine, my suggestion to you is to come and get it. It’s worth it. Standards are high, Swiss tastes are eclectic, and even simple restaurants will have open wines that you can order by the deciliter.
Wine is produced in almost all of the Swiss cantons -- 23 out of 26 I believe -- with the major ones being Geneva, Neuchâtel, Ticino, Valais and Vaud. Viticulture in Switzerland goes back at least to the Roman era, and there is evidence that grapes were planted in Valais even earlier. The first ceramic bottle was found near Sembrancher (Valais), in a 2nd century BC tomb.
When it comes to wine, and pretty much anything else, the Swiss are pragmatic; happily trading tradition for efficiency, as long as it results in something yummy, comfy or profitable. There’s a lot of buzz about the big differences between “old world” and “new world” winemakers being the new world’s willingness to experiment and use modern, i.e. non-traditional, techniques. Well, how do you suppose the Swiss squeeze 1’000’000 hl (488k white/520k red) of mostly high quality wine out of just 15’000 mountainous hectares of vineyards?
Just for fun, check out: list of Swiss inventions
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