Valais, Alpine grapes on glacial terroir

The Valais vineyards contribute one third to total Swiss production. Over more than a hundred kilometres, they stretch along the Rhône. Their well-exposed slopes extend continuously from the communes of Salquenen in the east to Martigny in the west. The vineyards sometimes penetrate deeply into the side valleys, so that of Visperterminen at 1100 meters is among the highest in Europe.

The favourable climate, dry and sunny, and the diversity of soils, which vary from one plot to another, produces in Valais an astonishing wealth of unique wines, from a multitude of grape varieties. Protected by the barrier of the Alps, Valais has by far the driest climate of all Swiss wine regions. The foehn, a hot wind that precipitates ripening, is also an important climatic factor. The great diversity of soils is due to geological upheavals, retreating glaciers and alluvial deposits from the Rhône and torrents from the Alps.