Grape variety
Chasselas
Chasselas, called Fendant in Valais: Switzerland’s most planted white grape. Its Lake Geneva origin, character, regions and what to eat with it.
- Colour
- White
- Origin
- Lake Geneva area, most likely Vaud (DNA study by Vouillamoz and Arnold)
- Grown in Switzerland
- About 3,400 hectares, of which about 2,200 in Vaud and 700 in Valais
- Typical aromas
- Apple, pear, lime blossom, flint, a slight prickle
- Classic pairing
- Fondue and raclette, perch fillets, the aperitif
- Synonyms
- Fendant (Valais), Perlan (Geneva), Gutedel (Germany)
Chasselas is the white grape Switzerland drinks more of than any other. With about 3,400 hectares it is the country’s most planted white variety, and roughly two thirds of that area lies in Vaud, where it covers the terraces of Lavaux, La Côte and the Chablais. Valais grows a little over 700 hectares and sells it as Fendant, Geneva calls it Perlan, and in Germany’s Markgräflerland it is Gutedel. The grape itself is the same everywhere; the names tell you where the bottle comes from.
Where it comes from was argued over for a long time: Egypt, Constantinople and the village of Chasselas near Mâcon were all proposed. A DNA study by José Vouillamoz and Claire Arnold compared the variety with hundreds of European and Near Eastern grapes and found the greatest diversity of old Chasselas types around Lake Geneva, most likely in Vaud. The earliest written mentions date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Switzerland’s signature white is, in all probability, Swiss.
Chasselas is not an aromatic grape, and that is the point. The wine is pale, light in alcohol, with soft acidity and discreet notes of apple, pear and lime blossom and, from some sites, a flinty or smoky mineral edge. Young Fendant often keeps a touch of carbon dioxide that gives a slight prickle on the tongue. Because the grape says little on its own, it is unusually transparent to soil and exposure: a Dézaley from the steep Lavaux terraces, an Yvorne from the Chablais and a Fendant from the Valais slopes taste recognisably different. The best examples age surprisingly well, turning honeyed and nutty after ten years or more.
It is the aperitif wine of French-speaking Switzerland and the natural partner of lake fish: perch fillets, féra and trout with a little butter. It is also the classic bottle to open with fondue and raclette, where its gentle acidity cuts the cheese without fighting it. Serve it cool, around 8 to 10 degrees, and do not look for power; look for balance and a clean, slightly saline finish.