Wines made from Mara grapes of Valais
Discover the best wines made with Mara as a single variety or as a blend of Valais.
Intraspecific cross between gamay noir and reichensteiner obtained in 1970 by André Jacquinet at the Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil research station (Switzerland). From these same parents he also obtained the gamaret and the garanoir. It should not be confused with the Romanian direct producer hybrid, also black, resulting from an interspecific cross between 12 303 Seyve-Villard and ozana. Mara is mainly cultivated in Switzerland and is virtually unknown in France.
The Valais is the largest wine region and appellation in Switzerland, responsible for around one third of the country's total wine production. The main Vineyard area covers the southeast-facing slopes of the dramatic Rhône river valley as the glacial waters run southwest between Leuk (Loeche in French) and Fully. The river changes direction at Martigny and then runs northwest to exit the valley and empty into Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). Vineyard area here comes to around 4,800 hectares (11,800 acres) and is generally located on (often steep) slopes and terraces between the flat, fertile, Heavy soils at the bottom of the valley - often given over to fruit production, industry and urban development - and the bare rock of the mountainside that towers above.
There’s been a focus on making wine production less energy intensive as well as environmentally friendly in order to address climate change. The efforts continue but, as is the case for electric cars where it’s the battery technology that needs innovating, it’s in wine bottles where we’re seeing rapid change. It comes in a two-pronged attack to reduce energy use in manufacturing and then an even bigger emphasis on reducing bottle weight for shipping to reduce fuel usage and thus CO2 production. ...
The largest-ever year for entries, an incredible 18,244 wines were judged at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards – with just 163 wines awarded a Platinum medal. ‘Winning a Platinum medal is something really exceptional’ said Decanter World Wine Awards Co-Chair Sarah Jane Evans MW. ‘Platinum is like the stratospheric level’ she commented, ‘so it’s really saying to the winemaker: this is a great wine.’ Making up just 0.87% of the total wines tasted at the 2022 c ...
There’s no doubt that 2021 was a challenging vintage. Most explanatory statements or technical sheets handed out over the past few weeks have mentioned the unfavourable, oft disastrous weather conditions, the sometimes very low and disheartening yields and the slightly varied or unusual blends on offer in 2021. Difficulties faced by vignerons both inside and outside of the cellar have been explained in detail as has the raft of highly important decisions needed be made throughout the year, ...