The warm cradle that produces Swiss wines - Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces 1243; The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement 1321; Winegrowers’ Festival in Vevey 01201; Art of dry stone walling, knowledge and techniques 01393
What and Why
Along the north bank of Lake Geneva (French: Le Léman) lies a 30-km stretch of terraced vineyards that produces the wine appellation of the region. The region, which occupies more than 8 million m2 is known for producing steely Swiss white wines, mainly from the Chasselas grapes. The region benefits from a temperate climate with good sunshine, while the lake moderates the temperature and the solar reflection from the lake almost re-creates a warm Mediterranean climate (Köppen Cs) to the area and hence favours viticulture. The steep landscape means that extensive terracing is necessary to grow anything. Some of the slopes are so steep that the gradient is almost 1.
The main wine grape variety grown here is the dominant Chasselas and at a smaller fraction Pinot Noir.
While the region has been growing wines since Roman Empire (Latin: Imperium Romanum) times, the region prospered from the 11th century CE when Benedictine (Latin: Ordo Sancti Benedicti) and Cistercian (Latin: Ordo Cisterciensis) monasteries managed the region. In fact the Cistercians are credited as being responsible for the terracing of the entire region for grape-farming. Moreover it was the monks who started to built the terraces with the dry stone walls using traditional stone-walling techniques that also helps to store heat from the sun and releases the solar energy into the vineyard. This is often considered as the 'third sun' of the vineyard terraces (after the real sun and the lake reflection).
As a result the region has been producing wines for more than a millennium and the history and culture have deservingly earns the region its WHS. Moreover as a result of the prosperous viticulture, a major festival known as Winegrowers' festival (Fête des vignerons) was held in the region and is one of the most eye-catching spectacles on Earth!
Toponymy
'Vevey' derives from the the Latin word 'vivus' meaning 'alive'. The city was known as Viviscus during Roman times.
The name 'Lavaux' is derived from the French word 'vallée', meaning 'valley'.
See
Vineyard (Vignoble)
We visited a number of vineyards and joined the vineyard tours under Lavaux Vinorama in the nearby small town Rivaz. It is one of the most established vineyards and has one of the best wine tours in the region. Ours was led by a very knowledgeable English-speaking American guide and he was absolutely fabulous, pictured as below.
The entrance facade of Lavaux Vinorama.
As afore-mentioned the vineyard terrace is very steep and it does take a bit of stamina to conquer the slopes, especially I was carrying my 10-kg son. No problem for me as I was always leading the pack. We had to climb a 100-m stair-slope to reach the first stop to get the first panoramic view of the terrace. We were told that the highest vineyard of the region is 350 m above sea-level!
As you can imagine, the steep slope requires strenuous efforts to work and the Swiss has developed various types of conveyor system to assist them in the farming and harvest.
The wines produced in the region are dominated by the white Chasselas wine, and the reds by the Pinot Noir. Almost 60% of the vineyards are Chasselas while the Pinot Noir contributed to around 10 to 15%, but the fraction of red is growing due to higher red wine demands from the country. Usually the picking season is around September to October and hence we did see a full bloom of grapes around the vineyards.
Since 2016 CE, the use of pesticides had been banned in all Lavaux vineyards.
One interesting fact about the terrace is that the Swiss law prohibits dominance of the vineyards for equality reason and the area is actually historically and currently managed by a large number of growers, and this is evidenced by the relative disorganisation of different patches of the entire area. As a result there is also a lack of a strong brand or label identity, in contrast with the French, German or Italian counterparts.
The tour naturally brought us to their wine cellar where their wines are being mulled.
Finally the tour concludes at the wine cellar and a wine-tasting session for everyone. I did not drink, and neither did my son, as I am always a responsible driver. My son did try to smell the wine but he seemed undisturbed by its light aroma.
Villa Le Lac
The Villa Le Lac is a minimalist rectangular residential building built by Le Corbusier (né Charles Jeanneret) for his parents during the 1920s CE. The building, located technically in Corseaux, which is 1 km away from Vevey, is considered nowadays as an iconic example of modern architecture and showcases three of Le Corbusier's Five Points of Architecture (Cinq Points de l'Architecture Moderne), as blogged earlier in Poissy. The building makes use of three of five points: the free plan, the roof terrace, and the 11-m horizontal foldable window. Many architects consider this one of Le Corbusier's finest masterpiece and a must-see for his work. Many modern buildings are influenced by its minimalist idea.
The building is barely 64 m2, and is literally a standard-sized apartment, designed specifically for an old couple without servant for minimalist living. Hence the building is purposefully small with well-connected rooms of open concept, as picture below.
Currently this has become a museum of its own, but is also used as a small gallery for various exhibition. The building is enlisted as part of WHS in 2016 CE.
Buy and Do
Winegrowers' festival (Fête des vignerons)
Usually when one talks about a festival one thinks about it annually, biannually or perhaps once every four years, like the Olympics. However there are some ritual festivals that happened less often than it should be, and we stumbled upon one in Vevey: the Winegrowers' festival (Fête des vignerons). We saw a number of posters along the coastline of Vevey, showing that the festival was last held in 2019 CE, which unfortunately we missed when we travelled there in 2022 CE.
The festival had been held since the 18th century CE, and was held irregularly approximately at interval of around 25 years, so literally once per generation only by purpose. The last one before the 2019 CE edition was held in 1999 CE.
The festival was held to celebrate the efforts of the winegrowers and the care given by the vineyard landlords but eventually became a spectacle of parades, wine-tasting events, performances and pageants. The festival usually lasted one or two weeks and was recently extended to other cantons of Switzerland (Suisse). The financial outlay for the festival is massive, with more than half a million of bottles opened and more than 6000 performers involved in 2019 CE alone. This perhaps explains why it is not held more regularly!
The once-in-a-generation festival naturally attracts everyone, and the recent edition of the festival was recommended as one of National Geographic's 'world's most exciting event' in 2019 CE! No doubt this is enlisted as an ICH, but unfortunately I could only see the posters and videos around Vevey and have to wait for the next round!
Eat and Drink
Swiss wines (Vins suisses)
According to my wife, a certified sommelier herself, Swiss wine is known for their lack of strong character, and it is famously mentioned that the character of Swiss wine, especially the Chasselas is its lack of character! According to regions, it can be fresh, fruity and floral but usually mild and smooth, with low acidity, low alcohol (usually 12%) and low aromatics. Perhaps this neutrality of identity reflects the Swiss identity of neutrality as well.
Chasselas can be paired with seafood, vegetables and of course cheese, especially Swiss cheese.
Most wines in Lavaux are not labelled as Chasselas but rather with the name of the village or the domaine from which they come from: Saint-Saphorin, Aigle, or Dézaley, where we naturally bought a few bottles from Lavaux Vinorama.
One of the mysteries during the tour was why are Swiss wines not famous globally? The simple answer is that all these wines are consumed by the Swiss and hardly anything is exported. In fact only 3% of the wines are exported due to the scale of production and hence it is not as celebrated as it should be.
Milk chocolate (Chocolat au lait)
Milk chocolate (Chocolat au lait) was invented in Vevey by Daniel Peter in 1875 CE, with the aid of Henri Nestlé, who founded the food giant Nestlé. Nestlé is headquartered in Vevey since 1867 CE.
Stay
We stayed at the impeccable Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic, Autograph Collection in Montreux While it is the most expensive hotel that I have personally ever paid for, I do confess it was worth every penny it was the great start for my Swiss trip!
Getting There and Around
This is the beginning of our Grand Tour of Switzerland and naturally we rented a car and drive around Switzerland. This trip will be detailed in subsequent blogs. Driving in Switzerland requires a permit (vignette) to use their highways, although if one follows the route of the Grand Tour strictly, one would not step into any highways. An offence to drive without a vignette results in a fine of CHF 200 Fr per offence.
One small tip, we rented the car from France and drove from Lyon. The rental is almost half compared to renting the car directly from Switzerland.
The entrance fee to Villa Le Lac is 14 Fr.
The area deserves a few days of exploration and possibly a full week of pleasant stay if one has sufficient cash.
UNESCO Inscriptions
The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, stretching for about 30 km along the south-facing northern shores of Lake Geneva from the Chateau de Chillon to the eastern outskirts of Lausanne in the Vaud region, cover the lower slopes of the mountainside between the villages and the lake. Although there is some evidence that vines were grown in the area in Roman times, the present vine terraces can be traced back to the 11th century, when Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries controlled the area. It is an outstanding example of a centuries-long interaction between people and their environment, developed to optimize local resources so as to produce a highly valued wine that has always been important to the economy.
Chosen from the work of Le Corbusier, the 17 sites comprising this transnational serial property are spread over seven countries and are a testimonial to the invention of a new architectural language that made a break with the past. They were built over a period of a half-century, in the course of what Le Corbusier described as “patient research”. The Complexe du Capitole in Chandigarh (India), the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (Japan), the House of Dr Curutchet in La Plata (Argentina) and the Unité d’habitation in Marseille (France) reflect the solutions that the Modern Movement sought to apply during the 20th century to the challenges of inventing new architectural techniques to respond to the needs of society. These masterpieces of creative genius also attest to the internationalization of architectural practice across the planet.
In Vevey, Switzerland there is a tradition that recognizes the community’s winegrowers involving not only those in the industry but also members of the public and local artists. Originally a single pageant, The Winegrowers’ Festival now features 15 events over three weeks and 5,000 contributors. Every festival is based on the recreation of a traditional theme, such as working the earth and vines, seasonal cycle and brotherhood. Pageants are held throughout the festival, as well as prizes awarded to the best winegrowers, music performances and songs sung such as the Ranz des Vaches (Alpine cow-herder’s song) and processions to the neighbouring town of La Tour-de-Peilz. Costumed extras can also be seen, as well as grotesques (wooden figurines on sticks). Taking place five times every hundred years, The Winegrowers’ Festival involves mainly volunteers who spend several years preparing for it. Transmission occurs within families and by the not-for-profit association the Vevey Brotherhood of Winegrowers, which coordinates the festival and whose members include winegrowers and the general public. The tradition encourages community spirit, helps to maintain the area’s artistic life and provides a sense of cultural continuity while facilitating the know-how of master winegrowers. The next festival will be in 2019.
The art of dry stone walling concerns the knowhow related to making stone constructions by stacking stones upon each other, without using any other materials except sometimes dry soil. Dry stone structures are spread across most rural areas – mainly in steep terrains – both inside and outside inhabited spaces, though they are not unknown in urban areas. The stability of the structures is ensured through the careful selection and placement of the stones, and dry-stone structures have shaped numerous, diverse landscapes, forming various modes of dwelling, farming and husbandry. Such structures testify to the methods and practices used by people from prehistory to today to organize their living and working space by optimizing local natural and human resources. They play a vital role in preventing landslides, floods and avalanches, and in combating erosion and desertification of the land, enhancing biodiversity and creating adequate microclimatic conditions for agriculture. The bearers and practitioners include the rural communities where the element is deeply rooted, as well as professionals in the construction business. Dry stone structures are always made in perfect harmony with the environment and the technique exemplifies a harmonious relationship between human beings and nature. The practice is passed down primarily through practical application adapted to the particular conditions of each place.
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