Actually, the title is slightly misleading. Swiss cheese, everybody knows about. Swiss wine? That’s a little bit of a surprise.
After a visit to the International Olympic Museum in Lausanne (a disappointment, really), you are dangerously close to the beginning of the Lavaux Vineyard Trail. This 20–mile trail takes you from Lausanne through some of the most picturesque Alpine scenery you’ll ever see to the famous and austere Chateau de Chillon. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can hike the well-marked trail from beginning to end.
I tend to subscribe to the old saw among traditional wine-makers, which says that “white wines would be red if they could.” But this part of Switzerland is famous for its Chasselas, a crisp, usually fruity white that wakes up your mouth with every sip. The wineries are fairly early in their exploration of red wines, but I did enjoy a couple of pinot noirs that were quite good, in a less-than-complex way.
Some excellent wineries dot the trail, including in Chablais and Vully. My favorite, though, is not on a lot of maps. Pierre-Andre Larpin & Fils in Bursinel offers excellent white and red wines that are obviously hand-crafted with care. But what elevated my visit was the friendliness and openness of the proprietors. They spoke no English, and my French is only passable, yet we managed to communicate. A young man explained that he had just taken over the vineyard from his father, who was retiring after making wine for many years. His mother insisted on feeding us lunch, while his wife thrust dessert after dessert upon us. It was a superb way to spend an afternoon—drinking wine with fourth-generation winemakers, reveling in an elevated view of Lake Geneva.
Last time I was there, I stayed at the Hôtel Real in Nyon, an outstanding “base camp” just across Lake Geneva from Evian, France. The hotel is a little modern for my tastes, but the rooms offer good value and copious space, and the views over the lake are spectacular. Plus, the back of the hotel faces onto the Old Town, the medieval part of the village. You can wander to your heart’s delight on cobblestone streets, past old horse fountains and up to the local chateau. Look out for traces of the original Roman settlement of 2,000 years ago.
Switzerland is one of my favorite places, so I could go on and on. But I’ll stop here so I can write about the famously neutral country (with some dark secrets!) in the future.
Side Note: If you ARE interested in Swiss cheese, visit any auberge in the Alps and get them started on the topic of local cheeses. You will learn a lot about how different the flavors are depending on where the cows are grazing, how they are treated and the like. Fascinating for the uninformed like me.
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