Wines made from Mondeuse noire grapes of Valais
Discover the best wines made with Mondeuse noire as a single variety or as a blend of Valais.
Cultivated for a very long time in Savoie, it is not the black form of mondeuse blanche and Mondeuse grise is a natural mutation of mondeuse noire. According to Thierry Lacombe (I.N.R.A./Montpellier), the latter is the result of a natural intraspecific crossing between the black tressot and the white mondeuse. Mondeuse grise and Mondeuse noire are both registered in the official catalogue of wine grape varieties, list A1.
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.