Lavaux is a place for grand views. From the narrow corniche road which drops gently down from Chexbres towards Epesses, there is a gorgeous panoramic view over to Cully on the shore of Lake Geneva below. A paddle steamer is pulling onto the jetty at Cully, almost certainly picking up passengers heading east along the Montreux Riviera to the island castle at Chillon, made famous two hundred years ago by Byron.
Closer to hand, just down from the corniche road, are the steep terraces where Chasselas grapes are cultivated for the most distinguished wines of the Lavaux region. The grand cru of Dézaley covers just 55 hectares, while the region’s second grand cru at Calamin, immediately below the village of Epesses, covers a mere 15 hectares.
Move up to the higher villages in the Lavaux winegrowing region and, with the blessing of clear weather, the view is even more impressive. From Grandvaux, for example, the vista extends across Lavaux and beyond. The French Alps stand serene across the lake: gaunt, bare peaks in the heat of noon which shade to warmer colours in the soft light of evening. Nature and imagination blur on the far horizon.
Six village appellations plus the two grands crus of Dézaley and Calamin together amount to just 830 hectares under vines, making Lavaux one of Europe’s most compact wine regions. The grapegrowing area at Châteauneuf-du-Pape, itself one of the smallest French appellations, is four times larger than Lavaux. Chablis, a mere sub-region of Burgundy, alone has 7,000 hectares of vineyards. Lavaux is a tiddler in the world of wine, producing very distinctive niche wines which, though never cheap, are much appreciated by those discerning drinkers who are lucky enough to secure a supply.
“Here it’s not a matter of quantity,” says Carol Mancini-Nuber, as she escorts us along the neat path which cuts through the vineyards through Dézaley. Carol pauses to tuck a vine stem back between the double wires which give structure and stability to the vines. “They have a tendency to escape,” explains Carol, referring to the mischievous stem.
“Lavaux is all about quality and tradition,” notes Carol. “And terroir,” she adds, referring to the particular combination of soil, location and geography which gives Lavaux wines their special texture. “This is the land of the three suns,” says Carol. “There is the generous warmth of the sun from above. Then there is reflected sunlight mirrored back to the vineyards from the tranquil waters of Lake Geneva.”
“And the third?” we ask.
“Well, that,” says Carol, “is the heat which each day is stored in the old stone walls of the Lavaux terraces. That heat is released in the cool of the night and creates a special microclimate around the vines.” She pauses and gently coaxes another wandering stem of Chasselas back between the twin restraining wires which are the hallmark of the double Guyot system of vine management. “It’s all manual labour on these steep slopes,” says Carol. “And it’s hard work.”
It is a view echoed by Gregory Massy, a winemaker from Epesses whose holdings include some treasured plots in Dézaley grand cru. “There is always something to do, whether in the vineyard, the cellar or in other aspects of the business,” says Gregory. “You just don’t ever get the chance to properly relax.”
But Gregory does take time out to discuss his family’s vocation, uncorking a bottle of his 2016 Dézaley Chemin de Fer. The name Luc Massy is embossed on the stylish cream capsule and again towards the foot of the label. “That’s my dad,” says Gregory, going on to explain that he and his brother Benjamin are slowly taking over the family business from their father Luc.
Gregory watches with some uncertainly as we taste. But the wine is of course magnificent, a perfect example of a good Lavaux Chasselas, with an early bounty of acacia, quince and apple grading through bitter almonds into a long, flinty, mineral finish. “It’s from the lowest part of Dézaley,” explains Gregory, noting that the vineyard’s proximity to the railway which skirts the north shore of Lake Geneva commended the name Chemin de Fer — a railway reference which nicely appeals to hidden europe DNA.
This is a region which captured the literary imagination for the beauty of its vistas, for the quiet of the vineyards and for its carefully manicured charm.
“There have been vineyards here for a thousand years,” says Gregory. “The success of Lavaux is in respecting tradition, but also keeping an eye on the future.” Like so many of the Lavaux vintners, the Massy family favours the native grapes of the region. “Take the Chasselas,” says Gregory, topping up our glasses with a little more Dézaley. “This really is a local grape, one which is well suited to the Lavaux soils and the local climate. It’s tempting of course to change to more well-known varietals. And some growers have done just that. We now see Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier grown here in Lavaux. But the local Chasselas is still the Lavaux mainstay.”
Thinking local, staying local
Pride in the local is central to Lavaux. As so often in Switzerland, Lavaux is an antidote to globalisation. At the Auberge du Raisin down by the lakeshore in Cully, each guest room is named after an autochthonous grape. It makes for an interesting roll call: Gamaret, Garanoir, Plant Robert and more — all distinctive grapes full of local character, each one a counterpoint to a global tide of Chardonnay and Cabernet. Pride in local values, local traditions is as evident on the plates as in the glasses in the hotel’s restaurant. Head chef Edoardo de Simone ensures that the fresh fish served at the Auberge du Raisin comes straight from Lake Geneva and the asparagus on the spring menu is of course Swiss.
Local wines are available for tasting and sale at the ‘11 Terres’ vinothèque at Epesses (photo © hidden europe).
Back on the steep Dézaley vineyards, Carol is still on the lookout for red-hued Chasselas stems which are ambitiously venturing out of bounds. “The vintners here are quick to extol the merits of Chasselas wines,” she says, taking time out to chat with a couple of women toiling in the vineyard.
But there was a time when the Chasselas was not rated so highly locally. It took a visionary from outside to reinvigorate the local Chasselas tradition. Jérôme Aké Béda has taken Lavaux by storm. “He comes from the Ivory Coast,” says Carol, going on to explain how this African sommelier and wine writer has emerged as a great promoter of Lavaux wines.
“Jérôme has been a fine ambassador and educator,” explains Carol. “We Swiss are not great at putting ourselves forward,” she says. “Selfpromotion doesn’t come naturally, so that’s why Jérôme’s work has been so very important.”
Most visitors to the Lavaux region eventually make their way to lovely Saint-Saphorin, a picture-perfect community on the hillside just above the shore of the lake.
“The lower part of the village was destroyed by a tsunami,” says Carol in a manner so casual that we assume she might be joking. “No, no, there really have been tsunamis caused by great landslides which brought entire mountainsides down into the lake. And many centuries ago, Saint-Saphorin was one of the victims of just such a tsunami.”
Today, it’s hard to imagine that anything untoward ever happened in so peaceful and beautiful a spot as Saint-Saphorin. With its steep shady alleys and cobbled lane, Saint-Saphorin is the most characterful of the Lavaux villages — and the charm of the village is much enhanced by the pleasing sound of running water. It is in this small community that Jérôme Aké Béda has for a dozen years worked as sommelier and maître d’hôtel at L’Auberge de l’Onde. He manages a cellar of 4,000 bottles that includes examples of all the top Lavaux wines — both white and red — including many bottles that have been aged for 20 or 30 years.
Back in Epesses, it’s no surprise to Gregory Massy that Jérôme has spotted the aging potential of Lavaux wines. “Every now and again, one of the local winemakers will open some old bottles to mark a special birthday or anniversary,” says Gregory. “People always said Chasselas doesn’t age well,” he adds. “But we know better, and as the wines become better known in the wider European market, we’ll surely see more interest among collectors keen to cellar Chasselas wines.”
The view from Epesses over to France with the Alps dominating the southern shores of Lake Geneva. Every available patch of land is under vines in the heart of Lavaux (photo © hidden europe).
Visiting Lavaux
The Lavaux vineyards are criss-crossed by railways. A main rail route runs west from Vevey along the shores of Lake Geneva towards Cully and Lausanne, touching the lower slopes of the Dézaley and Calamin vineyards along the way. It is a stunning ride with the vineyards on one side and the lake on the other.
There are a number of small intermediate stations on this lakeshore rail route. At Saint-Saphorin, the platform served by westbound trains stands precariously on the very edge of Lake Geneva — just waiting for the next tsunami. Slightly further west is the spartan station at Epesses, from where it is a steep climb up through the vineyards of Calamin to the village.
A second railway runs west from Vevey, but shuns the lakeshore, instead contouring slowly up the hillside and passing through the vineyard village of Chexbres to join the main Lausanne to Berne line at Puidoux- Chexbres. There’s also a funicular railway which climbs steeply up from Vevey to Mont Pèlerin, affording panoramic views over the eastern half of the Lavaux vineyards as the funicular cuts through the village of Chardonne.
The railway from Lausanne to Berne traverses the north-west part of Lavaux with a station in the village of Grandvaux. The Auberge de la Gare (www.aubergegrandvaux.ch) right by the station makes a perfect place to stay. For those who favour a lakeshore location, Cully runs it a close second where the Auberge du Raisin — mentioned earlier — is a good choice (www.aubergeduraisin.ch).
Both Grandvaux and Cully are well suited to rail-based excursions exploring the Lavaux villages — and the beauty of this region is that it’s easy to plan walks which cut through the vineyards and drop down slowly to the lakeshore. Those illdisposed to walking uphill have it easy, as a train is never far away.
For those inclined to combine a grand cru with a grand view, the terrace of the Auberge de la Gare at Grandvaux is a plum spot. Choose from a wine list that roams from Chasselas through Viognier to local Pinot Noir and take in a panorama that sweeps from heavily glaciated Grand Combin, far away to the south-east in the Pennine Alps, to the up above the French villages on the far side of Lake Geneva. The foreground is dominated by the Lavaux vineyards.
For another view of those vineyards take to the boat. Many of the scheduled services are operated by four traditional paddle steamers: Montreux, La Suisse, Savoie and Simplon, all built in the first two decades of the last century. These belle époque heritage vessels are the perfect vantage point for understanding the lie of the land at Lavaux and more broadly around the lake. The 30-minute sailing from Cully to Vevey is sufficient to see the most celebrated vineyards at Calamin and Dézaley, with good views too of a number of Lavaux villages including Epesses, Chexbres and Saint-Saphorin. But there is plenty of scope for more ambitious excursions, east to Montreux and the Château de Chillon, across the lake to Évian-les- Bains or the mediaeval town of Yvoire (both in France) or even Geneva (see box below).
This is a region which captured the literary imagination for the beauty of its vistas, for the quiet of the vineyards and for its carefully manicured charm. Even the very words Montreux Riviera (of which Lavaux is a part) conjure up images of the good life. But the lake is not always entirely serene. Shelley observed that “the thunderstorms are grander and more terrific than I have ever seen before.” The views come and go as another shower sweeps over the lake. And that, in part, is the sheer beauty of this area. It is terrain where nature plays with imagination. When the storms come, it’s the cue to pour another glass of Chasselas and taste the spirit of Lavaux.
In the last issue of hidden europe we looked at wine regions well suited to being explored by train. Lavaux might justifiably have featured in that earlier article. For more information on visiting Lavaux and the wider Montreux Riviera, see www.montreuxriviera.com. Our thanks to Julia Tames of Montreux-Vevey Tourisme for assisting our visit to Lavaux in May 2018.
