Switzerland is a country with a wealth of ancestral know-how passed down from generation to generation; discover our talented winemakers.
Swiss vineyards displays a unique variety in the world: an alpine landscape, a different climate depending on the region, and unique grape varieties.
Swiss vineyards cover 14,696 hectares, with more than 2,500 winemakers in six regions: Valais, Vaud, German-speaking Switzerland, Geneva, Ticino and the Three Lakes.
Switzerland's particular landscape and its vineyards inspire viticulture on a human scale, where the winemaker's skills remain the essential tool to bring grapes to maturity.
History
2021
Creation of regulations covering production of "natural wine" in Switzerland.
2019
The first Winegrowers' Festival of the third millennium perpetuates a tradition of more than two centuries. Its international openness confirms the success of an extraordinary event which has been organised five times -1905, 1927, 1955, 1977 and 1999 - during the 20th century.
2018
Born from the same parents as Divico, Divona is the first multi-resistant white grape variety.
2014
The Suzukii fly, from Japan, causes significant damage just before the harvest.
2013
Agroscope in Pully creates a new-generation hybrid grape variety, Divico, which combines resistance and quality
2007
The terraced vineyards of Lavaux are listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This international organisation has recognised the exceptional character of this wine-growing landscape born of a harmonious and centuries-old interaction between humans and their environment in order to produce a high quality wine.
1993
Creation of the Vitiswiss label, which charts the practices of integrated viticulture.
1988
The canton of Geneva is a pioneer, setting up the first Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system for Swiss vineyards to respond to the crisis affecting the profession. It will be followed in subsequent years by all the other wine-producing cantons.
1986
Developed by Agroscope, sexual confusion is used to combat parasitic butterflies that attack the vine, without insecticides.
1981
Creation of Bio Suisse whose products carry the "Bud" label.
1973
Foundation of FiBL, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, in the canton of Aargau.
1970
André Jacquinet, chercheur à l’Agroscope de Changins, croise du Gamay et du Reichensteiner Blanc pour donner naissance au Gamaret et au Garanoir. Ces deux variétés à la robe intense dotés d’une importante masse tannique sont vite adoptées par les vignerons.
1948
Creation of a school which, in Lausanne, then in Changins, provides higher education in viticulture, oenology and arboriculture.
1924
In his "Course for farmers", Rudolf Steiner lays the foundations of biodynamics.
1890
The agronomic research station of German-speaking Switzerland settles in Wädenswil
1886
Mildew crosses the Swiss border and complicates the lives of Swiss growers.
1882
It is discovered that copper sulphate (Bordeaux mixture) combats the mildew which arrived in Europe in 1878.
1871
Phylloxera arrives in Geneva. Half of Swiss vines will never be replanted.
1863
Powdery mildew, from America, arrives in Swiss vineyards
1816
The Tambora volcano causes a "year without summer". In Lausanne, the harvest is carried out on 12 November.
1811
In Neuchâtel, the Bouvier brothers embark on the production of sparkling wines
1797
The Confrérie des Vignerons organises a party in Vevey to thank its winegrowers.
1654
The term Chasselas appears for the first time in a book.
1536
After the Reformation and the Wars of Religion, the monks leave Lavaux. Their vines are sold to individuals or municipalities. Lausanne therefore acquires the Clos des Abbayes, one of the most beautiful estates in Dézaley, which the city still owns today.
1419
Helvetia becomes Roman and the vine settles in the territory of present-day Switzerland. A notarial deed mentions three names of grape varieties: Rèze, Humagne and Neyrun. A refugee in Saint-Prex, Marie de Bourgogne, offers vineyard growers Pinot Noir plants.
1313
A notarial deed mentions three names of grape varieties: Rèze, Humagne and Neyrun.
1291
The communities of the alpine valleys of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden sign a pact of mutual support which is considered the founding document of the Swiss Confederation.
1191
Duke Berchtold of Zäringhen founds a city on the banks of the Aar and gives it the name of a bear (Bär in German) that he had killed. On his death, Bern becomes an imperial city before joining the Helvetic Confederation in 1353 and becoming its capital in 1848.
1141
The Bishop of Lausanne invites religious orders to clear Lavaux to plant vines.
765
In a will that has remained famous, Bishop Tello of Chur, in the Grisons, donates various goods to the convent of Disentis. One of them is an agricultural outbuilding near Sagogn which consists of orchards, fields and vines, making it the oldest written document on vines in Switzerland.
515
The King of Burgundy founds the Abbey of Saint-Maurice which still has vines 1,500 years after its foundation.
58 B.C.
Helvetia becomes Roman and grapevines appear in what is present-day Switzerland.
58 B.C.
Helvetia becomes Roman and grapevines appear in what is present-day Switzerland.
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