March 5, 2009
Vineyards near Geneva on the foothills of the Jura mountains
If you’ve ever flown in or out of Geneva airport in Switzerland, you will have most likely flown over the gentle, rolling vineyards of the village Satigny, which has the largest vineyard area of any Swiss village, around 480 hectares or just over 1,000 acres. The French-speaking canton of Geneva is the third largest in Switzerland for vineyards after Valais and Vaud and there are some increasingly interesting wines to be found there from a vast range of grape varieties.
On my last visit there, we visited the wonderfully-named Domaine du Paradis, a producer growing over 20 different grape varieties in 40 hectares of vineyards in Satigny and the surrounding villages.
Roger Burgdorfer of Domaine du Paradis
Owner of Domaine du Paradis Roger Burgdorfer and his partner-winemaker Didier Cornut share a wacky sense of humour which is reflected in their highly decorated tasting room and on their wine labels. The wines, though, show a serious level of quality and originality, with an eminently drinkable Pinot Blanc, an outstanding oak-aged Viognier named Le Pont de Soupirs Blanc; and in reds not only a good example from the local curiosities Garanoir and Gamaret blended with Merlot called Le Noir Divin, but also a surprising star from Zinfandel.
You can easily do a wine tour in Satigny and neighbouring villages directly from the city of Geneva as it’s only 20 minutes drive away. The village has good choices for eating with the large decent quality village restaurant named Auberge de Satigny and just down the road in the hamlet of Peney, the rather upmarket Auberge de Châteauvieux. On our visit, we met up with friends who were actually staying at Châteauvieux and they enjoyed an excellent evening meal in the restaurant.
Café de Peney
For lunch on our visit we went to the Café de Peney under the same management. Being summer we could sit outside and enjoyed a relaxed meal with outstandingly presented food from good seasonal ingredients. The wine list too included a careful choice from the canton of Geneva and further afield in Switzerland and beyond.
Congratulations to Richard from Massachusetts who first guessed Sion in Valais, then Lavaux in Vaud (both major wine-growing areas, yes) and on the third attempt correctly guessed Satigny in Geneva, not an easy one.
Now, I can go and open a bottle of Le Noir Divin purchased on our visit. Follow me on Twitter for some more detailed impressions on the wine later this evening. And, if you are reading this on another day, you’ll find that my tweets include a wide range of comments on wine and travel related themes plus a few more snippets.
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Places to Stay, Eat and Shop, Vineyard Visits, Weekly Twitter Quiz | Tagged: Geneva, restaurant, Satigny, Switzerland, Twitter, wine tour | 
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Posted by Wink Lorch
February 25, 2009
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Brand Grand Cru above Turckheim
One of the must-see villages on the Alsace wine route, Turckheim is just to the west of the city of Colmar. Writer of the three Alsace wine region travel guides, Sue Style, who lives in the southern part of the region writes about the village: “One of the best preserved villages in Alsace, chock full of multi-coloured, higgledy-piggledy half-timbered houses and a night watchman who does the rounds each evening in summer. Some cheerful wine bars and a good hotel.”
The village makes a great base for a wine tour in Alsace: you can stay at the Hotel des Deux Clefs described by Sue as “Plushy, beamy, deliciously kitsch, family-owned inn in a classic half-timbered building built in 1540″ and eat at the Auberge du Brand – “A solid address for Alsace classics (smoked pork knuckle with leeks, asparagus or wild mushroom ragout in season, tarte à l’oignon) and a good wine list strong on Turckheim producers (Zind-Humbrecht, Baur, Armand Hurst).” The restaurant is named after Turckheim’s famous Grand Cru Brand vineyard which is known for the quality of its Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris.
Zind-Humbrecht is of course a fantastic wine producer, making a wonderful range from its biodynamically-farmed vineyards. Olivier Humbrecht was the first French Master of Wine and I studied in London with him in the late 1980s – I failed in the end, but he passed, which is no mean feat for anyone, let alone a non-native English speaker.
This was a more cryptic quiz question than others, but was hoping that it would get the brains ticking and would not be easily found on AbleGrape or Google. Congratulations to keen wine student and website owner @SuppleWine of San Francisco, who correctly deduced the answer to be Turckheim after an initial attempt with nearby Kaysersberg, which is a high village ‘watching over the vineyards’. I deduce that @SuppleWine is an Alsace fan and await their message to confirm which PDF guide they choose as a prize.
Next week, the quiz will be on Thursday, not Wednesday so you have a whole 8 days for some advanced studies! In the meantime, do continue to follow me on Twitter and consider becoming a fan on the Wine Travel Guides Facebook page.
1 Comment | Places to Stay, Eat and Shop, Vineyard Visits, Weekly Twitter Quiz | Tagged: Alsace, Sue Style, Turckheim, Twitter, wine tour, wine travel guides, Zind-Humbrecht | Permalink
Posted by Wink Lorch
