Fine wine may not be the first thing that comes to mind, when you think of Switzerland, but this mountainous little land actually produces some surprisingly good grapes, most of which are grown on the shores of Lake Geneva. They don't really make enough to export; you rarely see Swiss wine abroad. So it's a special treat to come here and make your own discoveries.
Lake Geneva's main vineyards are La Côte (between Geneva and Lausanne) and Lavaux (between Lausanne and Montreux). The light white wines from La Côte are just as good, but Lavaux is the best place to visit, on account of its ancient terraces, stacked up the steep hillside like paddy fields, it has been a Unesco world heritage site since 2007. The vineyards are tiny - 200 growers share 800 hectares. Each one has its own character and its own distinctive wine.
The main grape here is chasselas, and although it also grows elsewhere, this is pretty much the only place where it's grown for wine. The wine is neither sweet nor dry (a little bit like riesling) and generally low in alcohol, making it ideal for lunchtime drinking (a welcome change from the boozy new world wines which have flooded the British market). The subtle flavour of these grapes allows for all sorts of local variations - the difference between neighbouring vineyards is quite remarkable, even to a novice drinker like me. Locals say these grapes are warmed three times - by the sun, by the reflected sunlight from the lake and by the heat from the dry stone walls that stop these vineyards from toppling into the water. It's easy to forget that you're almost in the foothills of the Alps.
The easiest way to get here is on the wine train (00 41 900 300 300, sbb.ch/en) from Vevey, which chugs west uphill to the vineyard village of Chexbres. The journey only takes 12 minutes, and from here you can walk back through the vineyards, returning to Vevey by train or boat. A more relaxing way to explore is on the Lavaux Express (00 41 21 799 5454, lavauxexpress.ch), a tourist shuttle bus that does two round trips from the lakeside towns of Lutry and Cully.
Winemaking here is still a small family business. You can knock on someone's door and they'll let you taste a few samples and show you round. It all feels refreshingly informal. Our first stop was in the village of Epesses, at the vineyard of Patrick Fonjallaz (00 41 21 799 1444, fonjallaz.info). His family have grown grapes here for 12 generations, ever since the early 1600s. Our next stop was in Chexbres, at the vineyard of Claudine and Jean-Michel Conne (00 41 21 946 2686, conne.ch). Compared to the Fonjallaz family, they're relative newcomers - they've been in business since 1975 - but their cellar is warm and cosy, with tables made of old barrels, and old black-and-white photos on the walls. And since only one bottle in 200 ever finds its way out of Switzerland, you know you're drinking something you'll never find in your local off-licence.
