Vintage opportunity for Swiss wine
regain their domestic market, while focusing on the country's
traditional white wine varieties could help build up exports,
writes Kim Hunter Gordon.
The Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture has announced that the 2004 grape harvest is one of the best in recent years. A warm September made up for bad weather in the spring and the summer, said the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture (OFAG).
"The 2004 vintage was one accompanied by many fears," explained OFAG's Philippe Herminjard. He said that until the end of August, bad weather conditions had been pointing to a poor year in both quality and quantity compared to 2003. Fortunately, September was warm enough for the grapes to ripen and be harvested undamaged.
116 million litres of must were collected - 19 million litres more than in 2003 but still 1.5 million litres lower than the average over the last ten years.
According to Pierre Devanthéry, head of the organisation of wine producers in Valais, Switzerland's largest wine-producing canton, "the quality is excellent - in line with that of the vintage of 2000".
The announcement follows a survey carried out by Swiss Wine Communication in September which claimed that 70 per cent of the country now consider Swiss wine to be of high quality, compared to 55 per cent five years ago, and that the Swiss are becoming more likely to buy home grown than foreign wine.
Only 1 per cent of Swiss wine is exported. The rest (more than the entire production of New Zealand) is sold domestically, but this is still less than the amount imported from other countries. Domestic producers have been battling with EU and New World wines for territory since the government reduced import tax by 50 per cent in 2003.
Alongside the reported increase in the perceived quality of Swiss wine, the last five years has also seen traditional Swiss grape varieties and techniques being ditched in favour of popular global styles - mainly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon reds.
Switzerland has a number of very distinctive white wines, defined by unusual grape varieties that are adapted to the country's climates and terroirs. They include Petite Arvine, Cornalin and the crossbreed Riesling variety, Muller-Thurgau. But the most widely known white comes from the Chasselas (Fendant) grape - which is grown other countries but only with success, claim the critics, in Switzerland.
Despite a long tradition of white wine production, 2002 saw Swiss winemakers start producing more red. Since that year, the area under Chasselas vines has decreased by a total of 325 hectares (6 per cent). Of these, some 247 hectares have been replaced by red varieties, which the Swiss Wine Producers' Asociation (SWA) says are better adapted to current consumer tastes and trends.
Claude Alain Chollet of the SWA said that Swiss producers should adapt to changing tastes. "I don't think it is that people don't want white wine, but they want something fruitier. I think growers who plant Sauvignon or Chardonnay grapes, rather than the traditional Swiss Chasselas, will find customers."
But outside of Switzerland, focusing on traditional grape varieties is more likely to be successful. Speaking to BeverageDaily.com Robert Steel of Benson, the largest importer of Swiss wine in the UK, said: "The market is awash with Chardonnay, it's not worth competing with. [Swiss Wine] should concentrate on its strengths, like Geneva Fendant - which is often better than a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc at the same price."
Yet if Chasselas and other regionally unique vines continue to decrease there is a danger that the Swiss wine industry could lose out in the long term. "It's Switzerland, they're never going to be able to emulate global varieties," argues Steel.
He has been pushing for greater investment in the promotion of unique Swiss wine varieties in UK. "There are no big companies to put their marketing power behind it and the country's wine bodies are disjointed - there is no money," he said.
If the 2004 vintage lives up to its expectations then it is likely to be the one that defines the future for Swiss wine in the domestic market and, if the winemakers can work together to market their products as distinct, abroad as well.
