Vaud
Temperate lakeside
The terraced vineyards of Lavaux on Lake Geneva, a World Heritage site, where Chasselas takes on the character of each village.
Overview
About Vaud
Vaud lies on the north shore of Lake Geneva, and its best-known area is Lavaux, a long slope of stone-walled terraces above the lake that was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Chasselas covers most of the canton, and the wine reflects its site with a clarity few grapes can match, from the villages of Dézaley and Calamin to Saint-Saphorin.
Growers speak of three suns: the sun itself, its reflection from the lake, and the heat stored in the walls.
Vaud is marked on the map.
Switzerland
Shaded: Vaud. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Temperate lakeside
Mild and fairly sunny, moderated by Lake Geneva, which reflects light onto the vines and stops the worst frosts.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Steep terraces on limestone, marl and glacial deposits, held up by dry-stone walls, right down to the water.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Louis Bovard
Cully; a leading family estate for Lavaux Chasselas.
Blaise Duboux
Epesses; known for Lavaux whites from old vines.
Fonjallaz
Epesses; a long-established estate with vineyards in Lavaux.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.