Swiss Wine Ski Season Dispatch

In most wine regions, it’s common to think of harvest as the season’s grand finale, giving way to a quieter period spent in the winery and cellar. For Switzerland’s premier winemaking cantons of Wallis and Graubünden, however, the wine is barely in barrels before these regions face an even busier time: ski season. 

In Switzerland, skiing and tourism are intertwined, notwithstanding a strong domestic affinity for the sport. The practice in its modern form was imported from Norway in the 1890s. It was initially embraced by members of the British upper class taking winter holidays in resort areas such as Gstaad in western Switzerland, at a right angle between the cities of Lausanne and Bern, or Davos and St. Moritz, near the Austrian and Italian borders in the east. (The same British tourists are said to have originated après-ski culture, although the genteel crowd opted for hot tea over Jägerbombs). 

What’s Good for Swiss Skiing Is Great for Swiss Wine

Switzerland’s tradition of high-end winter travel continues to this day. Considerable funds are needed to account for the strong Swiss Franc and the nation’s costly services, in step with a high standard of living. Among those who can make the trek, the greatest numbers flow in from neighboring France, Germany, and Italy, but also from the U.K. and the U.S. All are drawn to Switzerland’s otherworldly beauty, its culture of refined hospitality, and, of course, the premier slopes.

Indeed, some of the features that make Switzerland so desirable for winter sport also account for its distinctive wines: high altitude, which lends itself to vibrant acidity, as well as strong sun exposure, cultivating ripe flavors in wine and lively slopeside après-ski scenes. At their best, Swiss mountain wines reflect their specific and sometimes extreme natural conditions. 

They bear a cool energy that is hard to find elsewhere. Given that Swiss wines are hard to find elsewhere – very few are exported – the ski season is a chance for an international clientele to encounter them. They often feature prominently among the wine offerings in the bars and restaurants of resort towns. There may be few extra reasons needed to book a Swiss winter vacation, but a leisurely wine tour after a day of skiing is a strong added incentive. 

Head Straight for the Top

There’s Wallis, Europe’s highest-elevation wine region. Its pinnacle is the St. Jodern Kellerei winery in the commune of Visperterminen. The vines grow at 1,150 meters, on a vertical drop that would make the most seasoned ski jumper gulp. Swiss specialties dominate the region’s white grapes, including Chasselas, known locally as Fendant (Switzerland’s most-planted white grape), while richly flavored Heida is perhaps the Valais’ white star. 

For reds, the most common plantings include Pinot Noir and Gamay, and, increasingly, Syrah, given warming temperatures in this surprisingly dry region. Syrah from Wallis has an identity all its own — deep, elegant, and brooding — though its vineyards trace the same Rhône river as the powerhouse reds of Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie in southeastern France, the source being a Swiss glacier. 

Just a 20-minute drive up the mountains from the heart of Walliser wine country, Crans-Montana is one of the flagship ski resorts in Wallis. Perhaps slightly less internationally famous than Zermatt and Verbier, Crans-Montana is known for its family-friendly culture and slopes. For an exploration of regional wines, the favorite local venue is Le Tirbouchon, a longstanding wine bar and shop now co-owned by Julie Salamin and Maéva Blatter. Amid some of the more extravagant wine experiences to be had in Crans-Montana – restaurants serving haute gastronomie against soaring mountain views – Le Tirbouchon stands out as a more down-to-earth establishment, but no less thoughtful in its offerings.

“It’s for everyone,” says Salamin. “It’s not a luxury place, but not low-bar either.” She offers eight wines by-the-glass ranging from about $5 to $13 in price, a selection that rotates weekly. Guests can also buy bottles of the same wines to bring home. Here, the guiding philosophy is proudly local; all of the wines are produced in the Valais and are served alongside regional specialties such as smoked trout. 

According to Salamin, it’s not unusual for bars and restaurants in Wallis to serve exclusively local wines, but it does take some education of the clientele. “The French think we just make whites,” said Salamin. “But they’re very surprised by the quality of the red wines as soon as they taste. With us, the reds are lighter, rounder. [In France] they’re stronger, more tannic.” 

Go Off-Piste…

Yet even customers who have a working knowledge of Swiss wines find opportunities to explore. A sample weekly menu could include Walliser wines beyond the famed Heida: a Pinot Gris-Chardonnay blend from Cave Mabillard-Fuchs, for example, or the “Kyrios” cuvée from Christophe Rey, a blend of Pinot Noir, Gamay, Syrah, and Gamaret.

During last year’s ski season, Salamin said her most-requested wine was Petite Arvine. “It’s a very lively grape, pleasantly citrusy and fruity. People love when the wines have such a vibrant taste.” Earlier this year, American-based Vail Resorts bought a majority stake in the Crans-Montana ski lifts, effectively taking control of the entire ski area. “We’ll have to practice our English!” says Salamin.

To the east, the canton of Graubünden is known for its spectacular scenery, winter sports and sophisticated wines. Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from this area stun even long-standing Burgundy lovers. St. Moritz is the iconic ski destination of southern Graubünden. But closer to the region’s premier wine country is Davos. Better known to the rest of the world as the town where titans of finance and tech hobnob with economic policymakers each year during the World Economic Forum, Davos attracts a more local Zürich-based crowd during the times of year when Bill Gates isn’t milling about, says Cyrill Ackerman, general manager of Davos’ Hotel Grischa.

The Grischa appears to feel no need to pander to Swiss stereotypes; the exterior is a contemporary take on Switzerland’s classic tiered chalet architecture, while the inside boasts a sexy pewter-hued bar with nary an alphorn in sight. But the hotel’s wine list (Ackerman’s brainchild) skews Swiss, emphasizing wines from the Bündner Herrschaft district, which some regard as Switzerland’s Côte des Nuits.

The local offerings reflect the hotel’s sustainability mission: there are no wines on the list from overseas. Ackerman maintains that Swiss wines deserve a space alongside gourmet cuisine, beyond lighter après-ski fare. Accordingly, at the hotel’s upscale Apollo restaurant, they are paired with locally sourced Wagyu beef and Perigord truffle. 

…or Stay Iconic

Swiss wines “are first-class wines that have asserted themselves against the competition from neighboring countries and can absolutely hold their own,” says Ackermann. On the higher-end side, he pours plenty of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Graubünden’s most famous estates: Gantenbein, Donatsch, and Grünenfelder. For value, Ackerman recommends the wines of Carina Lipp, whose husband also distills acclaimed Swiss brandies and gin. 

Wedged between Wallis and Graubünden, the canton of Uri benefits from easy proximity to both, as well as to Ticino, Switzerland’s Italian-speaking wine region. Within Uri, the mountain village of Andermatt stands as a key intersection point: an avenue of access to three major Alpine passes (St. Gotthard, Furka, and Oberalp), and a stop between Zermatt and St. Moritz on the famed Glacier Express, the historic train line that offers panoramic views of the Swiss Alps. 

Its unique geographical position also accounts for one of the best snow records in the Alps, benefitting from weather patterns off the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Once a perhaps too-closely held Swiss secret, Andermatt has been the recent beneficiary of a $1.9 billion investment project. Now its luxury hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, and an expanded ski area lure international visitors. 

For all that is forward-looking about Andermatt, local wine haunt Vinothek 1620 is proud of its past. 1620 refers to the year the structure was built. As self-proclaimed “fermentation freaks,” the business hosts a highly specialized bakery, a wine shop, and a wine bar playing tunes until midnight. One wonders when the team sleeps.

I was at last able to catch co-founder Dani Perez de Vera, who estimates the ski season customers to now skew 60% international, with large numbers coming from North America and the U.K. Since the Vinothek team imports wines themselves, customers can peruse bottles from many classic regions. But the robust Swiss selection represents some of the best offerings, making a case for the quality and variety of Swiss wine. Highlights include Weingut Adank’s Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from Graubünden, which are reminiscent of Burgundy in their complexity yet distinctively Swiss in their discreet fruit; Aziendo Mondo’s purringly soft Bondola, a red grape from Italian-speaking Ticino; La Colombe’s scintillating Chasselas from the banks of Lake Geneva.

For all of Switzerland’s tradition of hosting the world’s holiday goers, the nation’s wines could stand to travel more beyond its borders, if not just to demonstrate what they’re capable of. In the meantime, guests would be advised to leave room in their luggage to take some (well-wrapped) bottles home.