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Gastronomy and wines  A gastronomic review for those interested in fine food. From the «bistros» to the «gastros», oenological discoveries, the view of the specialists, interviews with restaurant owners and outstanding wine-growers. Everything you need to know about eating in Valais and those sometimes unrecognized regional wine treasures.
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Giroud Wines: a small enterprise grows large |
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by Alexandre Truffer, ©RomanDuVin.ch 2006  In Valais, the small world of wines resembles that of Don Camillo. Along the river, everyone knows each other, they quarrel, they make up over a glass... Almost nothing is secret for long and yet a mystery remains: what made Dominique Giroud?
The journey of this Chamoson local is exceptional. At the age of 21, with a diploma in oenology in his pocket, he joined forces with his father Frederic to create F&D Giroud wines. The duo had one and a half hectares of vines and no cellar. That was in 1992. Thirteen years later, the area of operations has stretched to 28 hectares. Renamed Giroud Wines, the company of small beginnings henceforth follows closely on the heels of the valaisan bigwigs Provins and Rouvinez-Orsat. In the beginning, almost all the bottles were intended for a private clientele. Today, nearly 95% of the wines are sold to the catering business or through distributors. Things continue to change as a massive real estate project is about to get off the ground. A complex combining an area for sampling with a production line will, from 2007, replace the current site, which is not equipped to receive visitors. |
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In search of the Cornalin |
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by Alexandre Truffer, ©RomanDuVin.ch 2006  Famous for its white specialities, the Valais also owns some authentic red wines. The most promising and the most original, known by the name Cornalin, almost disappeared at the beginning of the century. Today, the «rouge du pays» or «Landroter», as it's called, is doing well and its production has grown exponentially in the past decade.
This old vine, born in the heart of the Alps, has known a turbulent history, going through several changes of identity; ADN research has only recently revealed its true nature.
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Château de Ravire and glacial wine |
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by Alexandre Truffer, ©RomanDuVin.ch 2006  The "château viticole" (wine castle) is unique to the Valais canton; the Ravire Garden cultivates specialities. Its owner, Michel Savioz, is the only wine-grower to market a sophisticated Glacial wine that is produced using an age-old technique. Perched on a hill covered with vineyards at the Sierre exit, it conceals in its cellars, protected by an impressive Saint-Bernard, a wide variety of specialities derived from old grapevines planted much before the indigenious vines became popular.
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Towards new horizons |
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by Alexandre Truffer, ©RomanDuVin.ch 2006  The Estate of Muses à Sierre created in 1993 by Nicole and Louis Taramarcaz, has stretched out to new horizons ever since Robert, the son of the founders, returned to the family business. Ten years of oenological and wine growing studies took the young man from Changins all the way to New Zealand and from Sierre to Bourgogne. In 2001, armed with a Diploma from the Dijon University Institute of Vine and Wine, he returned to participate in the grape harvesting and to contribute to its fate in the cellar.
The development and experience of the young oenologist gave him a vision set firmly on wine growing and its future in Valais. It did not, however, make him a revolutionary determined to ruin everything. Thus, he refused to root out plots of Chasselas and replace them with more "commercial" strains. Defender of the Fendant, his philosophy is based on the following statement: the Valais has regions very favourable to white wines, and if our ancestors adopted the Chasselas so easily, it means that this is the right one for the region. |
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Fin Bec: collection of French and Swiss wines |
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Marriage along the Rhône  After having stored barrels of over matured wines all winter in a cave located in the heart of the Rhône glacier, Yvo Mathier remains faithful to the Rhône. The enthusiastic owner of the Fin Bec cellar in Sion has indeed launched a French-Swiss wine born from the collection of vines whose common feature is that they grow along the Rhône. Is it then a simple publicity stunt for the Fin Bec team? Jane Masters, seasoned oenologist, doesn't think so: to someone who has joined the team for this project, the collection allows a complementarity between the vines and the regions. The Swiss vines provide freshness and balance; the French grapes bring power and structure. Then, if this somewhat broader vision of the wine region does not stop you, do not hesitate to taste the "Fin Bec Mer", a mixture of Chardonnay, Petite Arvine, Valaisian Chasselas and French Viognier, or the "Fin Bec Terre" which combines Cabernet Sauvignon and black Pinot from the Valais with Syrah and Grenache from the Rhône Valley. |
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