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Vintage Reports |
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| November 30th 2006 |
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| Switzerland: Advantage Valais |
by Othmar Stäheli
It was an excellent vintage in Valais, Tessin and all other regions profiting from the warm southerly winds in Switzerland. Other appellations, especially those around the big lakes, suffered severely from the wet August. |
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 Low yields were the result. Swiss winegrowers thus harvested only around one million hectolitres, well below average. Quality was also very uneven. Chasselas in western Switzerland and Mueller-Thurgau in the Deutschschweiz were hard hit by the rains. Valais, on the other hand, Switzerland´s largest region with 5,200 hectares of vineyard, reports average volume but exceptional qualities. Despite the fact that the upper Rhône valley was hit by heavy rains in August, the vines were able to recover during the warm, dry weather that persisted until the beginning of November. Similarly Tessin´s most important grape variety, Merlot, reached immaculate ripeness under perfect weather conditions. The vintage was less inspiring in the rest of western Switzerland, north and west of Lake Geneva. Gutedel was the grape most heavily affected there. Most white wines from this vintage will be fresh, but they lack structure. |
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