St. Gallen is a German-speaking Canton of eastern Switzerland with a corresponding AOC. Much of the winegrowing that does occur within its borders takes place in the Rheintal region (the upper Rhein Valley) whose name often appears more prominently on labels. However, even here, wine production is not the dominant land-based industry.
Rheintal is a wine region which Lies at the far eastern edge of Switzerland, running North to South along the Swiss borders with Austria and Liechtenstein. As the name suggests ("tal" is a Germanic suffix denoting a valley), the focus of this region is the valley of the Rhein river – specifically the upper Rhein between Graubunden and Lake Constance.
After making its way down from its source at the Tomasee, high in the Alps, the Rhein turns northwards, through the substantial valley it has carved out for itself over many millennia. Both broad and flat, this area is highly fertile, based on mineral-rich alluvium brought downriver from the mountains to the west.
This forms an oasis of Green among the dark grey ridges of the Alps. As such there are many alternative land uses which compete with viticulture, including habitation.
Pinot Noir is the most commonly planted Grape. It is helped to ripen by the Warm föhn wind, known here as the "Traubenkocher" (grape cooker).
The arrival of Covid and the ensuing lockdown restrictions had serious repercussions in the hospitality sector and severely disrupted supply chains, particularly in the drinks sector. Champagne, one of the world’s most recognisable and exported wines, was severely hit by travelling restrictions – which initially impacted the luxury sector Champagne dominates – and the closing of on-trade outlets. The 2020 slump As a result, in 2020, Champagne sales plummeted; a 10% decrease year-on-year in March ...
The story of Domaines Henri Martin is that of a family business founded on a shared commitment, across generations, to produce wines with character, true to the quality of the exceptional vineyards and the history of the iconic estates they hail from. Descending from a family rooted in the Médoc for more than 300 years, Henri Martin was well aware of the potential of some of the region’s finest parcels. Motivated by this belief and by a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, he accomplished something q ...
The situation has been developing for a long time. But the potentially explosive elements are growing in intensity and coming together as if by some invisible magnetic force. In 2011, Regulation No. 1169 (which amended earlier regulations going back to 2006) was adopted in European Parliament calling for a system to provide food nutrition information to consumers. Shortly thereafter, the French Ministry of Health instructed Santé Publique France, the national public health agency, to create a co ...