There's a Reason Why Swiss Army Knives Have Corkscrews

Today I write you from a place I’ve never explored before, and that place is… Switzerland! Before arriving in la Suisse five days ago, I knew little more about the country besides its stereotypes and emblematic objects: neutrality, punctuality, banks, knives, watches and chocolate. I feel mostly ambivalent towards banks and knives, but I adore my Swiss watch and, like most breathing humans, I like chocolate. Especially a nice chunk of dark chocolate paired with Port. However, we’re a long ways from Portugal and I thought I’d have to take a break from my enological pursuits after leaving my temporary Mediterranean home.

But, destiny wouldn’t have it so. Today I visited Les Dames de Hautecour in Mont-Sur-Rolle, Switzerland. Well, I guess I can’t call it destiny. These fabulous three hectares didn’t materialize in order to link up with some sort of fate I was meant to stumble upon. In fact, they are just living another year of a 365-year-old tradition and I had the good fortune of visiting.

Currently, I am backpacking through Europe with my cousin and our gracious host put us in touch with a friend of hers, Coraline De Wurstemberger, the owner and manager of Les Dames de Hautecour, a delightful winery nestled between Geneva and Lausanne.

Coraline explained to us the history of the domain, beginning with its origins in 1649 and how it has since passed through several generations of her family. How? À travers the hands of female proprietors, hence the name Les Dames de (The Women of) Hautecourt. Coraline also is the founding member of Les Artisanes de la Vigne et du Vin, a Swiss organization comprised of the 10 female winery managers/owners/wine makers as well as L’International Associalted Women in Wine. You go, girl!

Coraline lived and worked in several different continents before becoming the sole proprietor of Les Dames de Hautecour, and as such, she has the power to produce wines to her standards. The reason why I am so eager to write about her and share my experience at her domain is because her winemaking philosophy strikes a similar chord to my –um- consumption philosophy.

Sidenote: Because I am not a winemaker and because I know relatively little about the annual struggles of producing a wine, I can only really have a philosophy about the wines I consume and try to make myself a well-informed consumer. The more I study winemaking, the less exigente I feel I need to be… for now. Until I know more about sulfites, non-native yeasts, etc. I need to leave those decisions to those who have their livelihoods on the line. Which brings me back to Coraline and her wines…

She discussed with us a powerful concept, which I’ve mentioned on my blog before, and that is viticulture raisonnée (sustainable viticulture). For me, it’s a well-balanced philosophy that respects both the land from which grapes are grown, the plants that provide the fruit, the grapes themselves and the reasonable additives that make a wine stable. She shared that in many cases, she trusts the production techniques of her fellow vigneron(ne)s raisonné(e)s, than those who have pursued the ‘Bio’ label (Europe’s equivalent of organic). She also proudly shared that over 90% of the wines produced in Switzerland today are done my means of viticulture raisonnée. Again, way to go!

Before trying the wines, Coraline showed us the vines themselves, which were obviously a little bare (it’s January in Switzerland) but otherwise, they looked in perfect health. They proudly wore the names of their varietals, which, contrary to what I’d been told by a different Swiss person (not a winemaker), are not typically blended. At Les Dames de Hautecourt, particular varietals are chosen for the terroir to which they are best suited. There are three: one which grows exclusively Chasselas, one near Coraline’s garden and tasting room which grows exclusively Pinot Noir (my favorite, at last!) and a third which also has Pinot Gris, Gamay and Chasselas Violet, which gets its name from the violet clusters which can, sometimes, produce rosés, but are selected only for Coraline’s whites.

We were graciously invited into her tasting room, which was heated with an open flame. Nothing seemed more inviting than a little warmth and a little wine. She offered us tasting of the three Chasselases which are produced at the domain, but not before revealing a bag of pastries that she’d picked up for us to go along with our degustation. While speaking of her generosity, I should also take this time to mention that she even came to pick us up at the train station…and gave us bottles of wines as “gifts” as if we’d somehow been the one’s going out of our way to treat her to a special afternoon and not the other way around.

Returning to the wines, we had the opportunity to meet Chasselas in three forms: Réserve, sur lie and violet. The Chasselas Réserve is a favorite of Coraline’s for its versatility and its ability to refresh the palate. It’s both fruity and dry and we left with two bottles, a 2011 and 2012. Olivia, my cousin, and I can do a vertical* (thanks, Philippe!) tasting one of the nights in Austria (our next destination) where the snow it to thick to go out. Next, we tried Chasselas Violet, which offered a completely new flavor profile while still being fruity and dry. Coraline said it was sweeter and more acidic and I felt that it had a slightly more bitter edge. She shared that one of the characteristics of Chasselas Violet was that as the vines get older, they offer caramel notes on the finish. Perhaps it’s that last, pleasant note that makes you quickly go back for another sip. Finally, we tasted Chasselas sur lie, which is produced in an ancient method: barrel-aged for 12 months and then, subsequently bottle-aged for a minimum of 2 years. She also explained that the lies or the sediments that remain after the alcoholic fermentation are not discarded like they usually are, instead they remain in the barrel through malolactic fermentation. This makes for a wonderful Chasselas (my personal favorite).

We did not try Coraline’s red varietals, however, one of the bottles we were gifted was a 2011 Pinot Noir, which we will have with tonight’s dinner of spätzle with beef, spinach and mushrooms. I can smell it cooking now and it’s proving to be a giant distraction that I will have to overcome.

I cannot finish this post without reiterating how impressed we were upon leaving Les Dames de Hautecourt. I felt excited to learn of a whole new region- a whole new country, for that matter- wherein I could source my future wines and wine inspiration. I felt exhilarated after seeing what Coraline had succeeded in doing with her domain and her associations in an industry, which has almost always been dominated exclusively by men. Yeah, Dionysus and Bacchus, I’m talkin’ to you! Tonight, I think we’ll toast our Les Dames de Hautecourt 2011 Pinot Noir to a lady deity and celebrate those like Coraline and the generations of wine women who came before her.