German-speaking Region
Diverse topography and wines
This is an unusual region compared to the other five because it’s spread across such a large swath of the country, with many variations in climate, geology and terroir. It runs from Basel on the border of France and Germany over to St. Gallen and Graubünden next to Austria with the latter touching Italian-speaking Ticino in the south. There are three sub-regions, the Western area includes cantons Basel and Aargau. The central part: Zurich, Schaffhausen, Thurgau. Eastern area: Graubünden and St. Gallen.
From landed gentry to today's artisanal wines
A peculiarity of the region is the number of very small growers, with some 3,000 producers, the bulk of them weekend growers. Only 10% of them make their own wine. Their vineyards often sit on land that once belonged to large monasteries or landed gentry. Eighty percent of the population drinks these locally produced wines, and 15% of these are drunk only on site.
New hybrids for the future
There’s great enthusiasm in the German-speaking wine region for the new hybrids known as interspecific (or PIWI) wines, highly resistant to fungal diseases. The number planted is growing rapidly as organic growers embrace them and their efforts pay off in high quality wines. This region is home to FiBL’s large research institute, with vineyards for testing. The organization is one of the world’s leading organic farming research institutes, founded in 1973.
Waterways and Lakes
Virtually all grapes are grown along the Limmat, Aare and Rhine rivers, which are home to world-class Pinot Noir wines, or on the banks of lakes Constance, Zurich, Thun and Lucerne. Pinot Noir accounts for 60% of all grapes grown in the region. Unlike the French-speaking cantons, the eponymous white grown here has been Müller-Thurgau, also known as Riesling-Sylvaner, although this is giving way to other whites, notably Chardonnay.
featured winemakers from the german-speaking region
Coming Soon: Nadine Saxer
