Switzerland: Wine growers dodge bad weather to gather grapes

(TheLocal) - A cold spring means a late harvest in Switzerland's vineyards but wine growers are optimistic about the quality of the wine this year. Caroline Bishop joins a vigneron in Lavaux, on the slopes above Lake Geneva, to discover the traditions of cultivating and harvesting grapes in these centuries-old vineyards.

The grapes keep on coming. In total around 1,500 kilograms of Chasselas are poured into the 100-year-old wooden press to extract the juice, and this is the second pressing of the day.

Artisan wine-grower Alain Chollet is in the middle of his annual harvest.

Like his fellow vignerons all over Switzerland, he is scrambling to find seven to nine fair weather days in the space of two to three weeks in October to harvest his grapes. The harvest is later this year due to the unusually cold spring, which created a late start to the growing season.

"It's been more than 30 years since we last saw such climatic conditions," Chollet tells The Local. "Happily the hot summer made up for the delay — if not the harvest would have taken place in November."

But he is optimistic about the prospects for this year's wine. Given the month of June was cold, the quantity may not be as high as usual, says Chollet. But it's the weather in September that dictates the quality of the grapes – and that was a warm, dry month.

With just three hectares of land and producing around 22,000 litres annually, Chollet's vineyard, located in the Daley area between the villages of Villette and Lutry, is one of the smaller ones in the Lavaux region, a Unesco-protected site on the shores of Lake Geneva between Lausanne and Montreux.

Vines were first planted in Lavaux in the 12th century by Cistercian monks who built walled terraces on the steep slopes. The area in the canton of Vaud now boasts 10,000 terraces over 40 levels from the lakeside to the top of the slopes.

"Back then there wasn't much alternative to grow on these steep slopes, as they didn't suit cattle or wheat," says Chollet. But vines flourish here, thanks to the composition of the soil, the south-facing aspect and the temperature regulating role of Lake Geneva.

"We often talk of the three suns: the rays of the sun itself, the rays reflected by the lake and the accumulation of heat in the walls of the terraces, released during the night."

Harvesting the grapes is labour-intensive. The gradient of the terraces means the fruit must be picked by hand, rather than machine. Chollet advertises on his website for volunteers to help and he pays them in wine — a bottle an hour.

During The Local's visit, the pickers are all local residents, including several retired people and others with flexible jobs: an artist, a tour guide, even a train driver. It's a convivial atmosphere on this warm, dry October day. Should it have rained, the harvest would have been postponed for another day.

The volunteers work from the early morning to around 5pm to cut bunches from the vines. It's enjoyable but backbreaking work and hands quickly become sticky with grape juice. Care must be taken not to catch fingers — or those of fellow workers — in the secateurs each uses.

Chollet's grapes are carted back to the house in a motorized wagon, while elsewhere in Lavaux monorail-like contraptions are used on the steepest slopes. Some châteaux even use helicopters, which whir overhead as pickers work.