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).
Franciacorta producers have reported sales up by 28.3% last year, compared to 2020, when sales fell by nearly 10% to 15.8 million bottles. Sales of 20.3m bottles in 2021 were also higher than the pre-pandemic total of 17.6m bottles in 2019, according to the Franciacorta Consortium. It declined to disclose the value of sales, but there is optimism among winemakers that more consumers are discovering these traditional-method sparkling wines from Brescia in Lombardy. Arturo Ziliani, CEO of Berlucch ...
Emmanuelle Verset is the sixth generation to make wine in her family, and represents the E in Domaine A&E Verset. The A is for Alain, her father. She took over from him in 2016 at the age of 24, and is one of the few female winemakers in Cornas. The Verset name runs deep in this part of the Rhône. You might have heard of Noël Verset (1919 – 2015), whose bottles are highly sought-after today – Noël was Alain’s uncle. Scroll down to see Matt Walls tasting notes and scores for six Domaine A& ...
The authorities have charged Casey Alexander, who lives in the UK, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is accused of running three companies – Windsor Jones, Charles Winn and Vintage Whisky Casks – which obtained the phone numbers of elderly Americans and cold-called them. Investigators said the companies used ‘aggressive and deceptive tactics’ to convince people to wire them money, promising them huge returns. Windsor Jones’ website, which lists the company’s address as Wilmington, D ...