The Quiet Power of Swiss Wine - A Sommelier’s Journey through the Alps by Lise Donier-Meroz

Almost 8 years ago, in the heart of the Lake District, I began a journey guided by curiosity, emotion, and the quiet power of taste. As a young sommelier in the UK, my path was filled with wines from all around the globe, from the most prestigious cellars to intimate vineyards, from technical precision to the delicate poetry that a juice can whisper when we truly listen. In 2021, after the chaos caused by Brexit, and an infamous virus, I felt the urge to reconnect with my roots, the mountains. Five years later, in the heart of Valais, surrounded by peaks and sunshine (300 days/year, clearly not missing the Lakes for this…) I found myself more than ever in dialogue with the land and the artisans that craft this terroir.

At Restaurant Gilles Varone (30 years old Swiss chef, trained in London), the philosophy of the cuisine, and therefore our wine program is simple yet daring: to celebrate what is ours. In a world that so often leans toward the familiar prestige of great appellations, we choose instead the singularity of the Alps. From steep terraces carved into stone, to lakeshores vineyards or iconic rivers like the Rhone and the Rhine. We pour the Swiss landscape into the glass. Our beverage list offers close to 500 references, 90% of it being from Switzerland and the rest from other alpine regions only (Savoie, Styria, Alto-Adige, Aosta..).

From the beginning of this culinary adventure, we wanted to prove that we can build a

recognised, award-winning wine list, while staying close to our values and our roots. For me, every service, every pairing, is an invitation to slow down, to feel the altitude and diversity of emotion that Swiss wine can awaken. Our cellar is not built for ostentation, it is an ode to proximity, to the invisible link between nature and craftsmanship. As sommeliers, we are storytellers. My story, today, is that of these vineyards that defy gravity, and sometimes sanity. Last month, just 3 years after our opening, we were stunned to receive our second Michelin star, still without any Burgundy, Bordeaux, Super-Tuscan etc. within our walls.

A little insight to Swiss Wine

With just under 15000 ha of vineyards, Switzerland is not about volume or fame, it is about being confidential (only around 2% of the production is exported). Swiss wine doesn’t shout but it resonates. The wine country is divided into 6 main regions: Valais, Vaud, Geneve, Trois-Lacs, Ticino and German-speaking Switzerland. Each of those regions are shaped around lakes, rivers and the Alps that cover 60% of the country. Despite its small size, the diversity of microclimates, altitudes, and grape varieties (around 250) is remarkable.

The Soul of Valais

The Valais, my home for 5 years, is a vertical world: terraces rising above the Rhône like

stairways to the mountains. The sun here is fierce, the soils a mosaic of limestone, granite, alluvials, and more, shaped by the ancient glaciers. The vines struggle in the hot and dry summers, and that struggle is their grace. Valais is the largest growing region of Switzerland, with close to 5000 ha of vineyards. It represents a third of the country’s total production. The region offers a myriad of grape varieties, some of the most precious ones being our indigenous gems.

Petite Arvine, the white jewel of the region, is like the echo of the glaciers. Crystalline, saline, and alive with tension. It smells of rhubarb, grapefruit peel and alpine herbs, and finishes with that whisper of salt that recalls the old seas that once covered this valley. Humagne Blanche speaks softly, in notes of almond, hay, and stone. It is a wine of calm beauty, contemplative, lunar. Amigne de Vétroz, honeyed and exuberant, carries both sweetness and bite, a reflection of the dual nature of the Valais: generosity and rigor intertwined.

My own personal “coup de coeur” is the rare Rèze. There was a time when the Rèze was the pride of the Valais, grown high above the city of Sierre. One of Switzerland’s oldest native grape varieties, it once blanketed the southern slopes of the Rhône Valley. Today, only a few vines (about 3ha) remain like guardians of memory. Yet in its quietness lies a rare kind of grace, the taste of altitude, of time slowed down during a harsh winter. In the glass, it reveals aromas of alpine flowers, green apple, quince, sometimes a hint of beeswax or mountain honey. Its freshness is almost vertical, like the idea of the first snowfall of the year. For centuries, Rèze gave birth to Vin des Glaciers, that mythical wine matured in old larch barrels, each year refreshed with younger wine, creating a liquid archive of generations.Tasting it is like stepping into a lineage, a communion between past and present.

Today, a few passionate vignerons are bringing Rèze back to life, replanting it where it once thrived. To taste it now is to rediscover a lost accent of the Valais, a whisper of ancient stories. On the red side, Cornalin bursts with wild berries and iron, a wine of character and instinct, untamed, like a mountain stream. Humagne Rouge leans darker, with shadowed fruit and earthy grace, a murmur of the autumnal forest floor after rain. Each sip is a reminder that Valais wines are not made to seduce at first glance, they are meant to be understood, slowly, like the mountains themselves. Thanks to the diversity of soils and altitudes, a lot of international grapes are also grown here. If some of them clearly taste out of place, some others have clearly found a great home.

Being a proud Jura born, I was first very surprised to find such an amount of Savagnin (here called Paien “the pagan wine” or Heida) grown. In the historical calcareous terraces of Visperterminen, one of the highest vineyards in Europe, Savagnin found its adoptive home. In the glass, its aromas and weight are often more generous, more exotic than in Jura. Yet this terroir offers a taut, a tension between maturity and freshness, warmth and altitude. Its local name alone carries a great meaning, there is something sacred and ancient about its presence here. Another amazing example would be Syrah. In Valais, it offers a unique dialogue between southern soul and alpine freshness. This grape that belongs to the Rhône mirrors the Valais: proud, vertical, patient. Like fire and ice. Syrah here doesn’t roar, it whispers the most delicate poetry.

Across the Cantons, A Tapestry of Expression

Beyond the Valais, Switzerland reveals itself as a patchwork of microcosms, each region

shaped by its language, landscape, and soul. Here are a few regions to remember, or to not miss if you fancy a Swiss Wine trip. Vaud, Where the Light Becomes Wine In the Vaud canton, between Lausanne and Montreux, the UNESCO hills of Lavaux fall toward Lake Geneva, their terraces carved like centuries of history into the stone. Here, the vineyard clings to the slope a mosaic of walls, paths, and sun. The lake below reflects the sky, doubling the light; the Alps rise beyond, like a gentle reminder of where you are.

To walk through Lavaux is to understand that beauty can only be built through patience. For eight centuries, men and women have tended these vines, building walls with their hands, passing down gestures as old as faith. The stones hold the warmth of the day; at dusk, they release it like a breath. Everything here feels eternal, and yet so alive.

The humble and often misunderstood Chasselas is the voice of this place. Here, it captures the shimmer of the lake, the softness of limestone, the whisper of evening air. Subtle and luminous, it speaks of calm precision, a wine of reflection rather than noise. The most iconic vineyards of Dezaley or Calamin (both Grand Cru) show great examples of crystalline purity and quiet elegance. In the hands of devoted growers, it becomes a mirror of terroir: subtle, mineral, discreetly floral, the taste of light itself. The best example will show their true character after decades.

The lesser known region of La Cote, between Lausanne and Geneva, is probably one of the most dynamic areas in French-speaking Switzerland. Few producers here are part of the pioneers of biodynamic and natural wine-making in the country, offering an excellent balance between tradition and modernity.

Ticino, A Glimpse of the Mediterranean

Beyond the Alpine passes, where the light turns golden and the air softens, lies Ticino,

Switzerland’s Italian heart. Here, palms and chestnut trees share space with vines. The landscape feels like a meeting of worlds: the warmth of the south woven into the discipline of the Alps.

The grape that reigns here is Merlot, brought from Bordeaux more than a century ago, yet transformed by altitude, stone, and restraint. In Ticino, it shed its opulence to gain clarity, still generous, but cut with freshness and nerve. In its best expressions, it carries the scent of ripe plum, graphite, laurel, and rain on warm stone. One of the most remarkable wines I have tried from Ticino was a very unique revisit of the Piemonte Erbaluce variety. The different soils, granite, gneiss, and sand, give the wines a firm backbone, while the southern sun fills them with flesh and light. Like Bordeaux, it is one the rainiest regions, making some vintages a nightmare for the producers.

To taste a Merlot from Ticino is to stand at a threshold: one foot in Italy, one in the mountains. It’s a wine that moves like a long breath, smooth, deliberate, quietly powerful.

Ticino reminds us that Switzerland is not one landscape but many, and that even under the same sky, the vine learns a thousand languages of taste.Geneva - Between City, Lake and Countryside In Geneva, at the western edge of the country, energy vibrates through the soils. Its gentle hills lean between the slopes of the Jura mountains and the Lake. Viticulture here is living a great revolution. Trying to fight a reputation of high production and low quality, some pioneers and young winemakers. Together, they are slowly reshaping the soul and style of the region.

Here, Gamaret and Garanoir, native crossings, express the dynamism of a region in movement. Some outstanding examples of international grapes such as Gamay, Pinot Noir and Merlot are also being produced. Chasselas is the most planted white grape, often quit subtle, discreet and easy drinking. Geneva wines offer structure and elegance, like the pulse of the city meeting the calm of its countryside.

The Three-Lakes, Beneath the Surface

In the heart of Switzerland’s western plateau, between the lakes of Neuchâtel, Biel, and Morat, lies a land of pure elegance, a mosaic of limestone, breeze, and reflection. The vines seem to hover between water and sky, their roots drawing calm strength from the ancient seabeds that once covered this place. On the western side, the steady Jura mountains offer their protection from harsh winds. This is one of the oldest growing regions in the country. This is the Three Lakes region, a landscape of balance. The wines here speak in nuance, in tone, in detail. Here, Pinot Noir finds some of its purest expressions outside Burgundy, refined, precise, carried by a natural luminosity that feels

almost marine.The best cuvées glide across the palate like silk. There’s tension, but never sharpness; depth, but always grace.

The soils of limestone and marl give the wines their line, their lift, their quiet persistence.

Alongside Pinot Noir, Œil-de-Perdrix tells another part of the story, a pale, tender rosé born from the same grape, as delicate as dawn over the lakes. And the Chasselas here, mineral and floral, captures the region’s lightness, that sense of still water and open air. The Three Lakes remind us that greatness can live in quiet places, and that sometimes, the most moving wines are those that whisper, not declare.

Graubünden, the Alpine Burgundy

Tucked into the eastern folds of Switzerland, between granite peaks and the old Rhine riverbed, lies Graubünden, a land that feels both remote and essential. The vineyards here are among the country’s smallest barely a few hundred hectares, scattered along the Rhine valley near Fläsch, Malans, Maienfeld and Jenins. Yet what they lack in size, they recover in purity of expression. If the Valais speak in sunlight and stone, and Lavaux in light and reflection, the Grisons whisper in texture and tone. The soils, a mosaic of calcareous schist, gravel, and alluvial fan, allow water to drain swiftly, forcing the vines deep into the mineral heart of the earth. Combined with a bit of altitude and the warm wind “foehn”, this creates a slow, deliberate ripening, where sugars build gently and acidity remains taut.

It’s a terroir built for Pinot Noir, or Blauburgunder, as it’s known here. The wines are pure, fine-boned, and articulate. They carry aromas of wild strawberry, rose petal,smoke and crushed rock, with a structure that feel both fragile and eternal. Oak is used sparingly, detail reigns supreme. Great vignerons here, work less like winemakers and more like translators, letting the site speak in microtones.

In the glass, Grisons Pinot Noir shimmers with precision layered over depth. The tannins are filigree, the acidity like mountain light. It’s a wine for those who listen closely, for whom beauty lies in proportion, not in power. This is the Switzerland of the terroir geeks, a place where geology becomes philosophy, where every vine root seems to touch both stone and silence. It is therefore not surprising that I have tasted some of the best Chardonnay of my life here as well.

Sharing the Voice of Switzerland

During those 5 years of wandering through the terraces of Lavaux, feeling the altitude of the Valais, discovering the warmth of Ticino, listening to the quiet voice of the Three Lakes, and marveling at the crystalline precision of the Grisons, I feel profoundly connected to the soul of Swiss wine. Each region, each indigenous grape, each vineyard is a story waiting to be told, a whisper of landscape, climate, and human devotion. As a sommelier, I am privileged to share these stories with my guests. I am proud to show that Swiss wines do not need fame to move, that they do not chase bigger appellations, they are a world unto themselves, diverse, intimate, and expressive. Through tastings, conversations, and moments of exchange, Swiss wines reveal their secrets and demand attention. They remind our community that great wines can come from small places, and that the richness of terroir lies not in notoriety but in authenticity.

Swiss Wine Week London · 6–12 November 2025 The second edition of Swiss Wine Week London returns this November, bringing the best of Swiss vineyards to the British capital. In collaboration with passionate local partners, the week will feature exclusive tastings and unique experiences celebrating the diversity and elegance of Swiss wines.

Importers of Swiss Wines

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