Wine region
Graubünden
Graubünden: about 420 hectares in the Rhine valley, the Bündner Herrschaft (Fläsch, Maienfeld, Jenins, Malans), Föhn, Pinot Noir and the rare Completer.
- Vineyard area
- about 420 hectares excluding the Mesolcina, about 3 per cent of Switzerland
- Main grapes
- Pinot Noir (about two thirds), Riesling-Silvaner, Chardonnay, Completer, Pinot Gris
- Climate and soils
- the Föhn, the grape cooker, makes the Herrschaft the warmest wine area in German Switzerland; limestone scree and gravel
- Signature wines
- Graubünden Pinot Noir, Completer, Churer Schiller
- Landmark
- the Bündner Herrschaft: Fläsch, Maienfeld, Jenins and Malans
Graubünden is a small wine canton by area, about 420 hectares excluding the Mesolcina, whose vines count as Italian-speaking Switzerland, but one of the most respected in the country for quality. The vines follow the Rhine from Reichenau and Chur past Trimmis and Zizers to Landquart and on into the Bündner Herrschaft, the four communes of Fläsch, Maienfeld, Jenins and Malans on the border with St. Gallen and Liechtenstein. Most of the area lies there; Maienfeld, the village of the Heidi story, is the largest wine commune. The name Herrschaft dates from the time when Maienfeld and Malans were subject territories of the Three Leagues.
The secret of the Herrschaft is the Föhn. This warm downslope wind, which the villagers call the grape cooker, sweeps through the Rhine valley in autumn, dries the bunches and drives up the sugars; together with the mountains that keep out cold winds and the wide swings between day and night, it makes the Herrschaft the warmest wine area in German-speaking Switzerland. The soils consist of limestone scree, gravel and clay laid down by the Rhine and the slopes.
About two thirds of the area is Pinot Noir, called Blauburgunder here. According to tradition, the variety came from France in the 17th century; until around 1600 white varieties such as Elbling had dominated. Graubünden Pinot Noir, with its freshness, fruit and fine tannins, is now regarded as the benchmark for the whole of Switzerland. It is joined by Riesling-Silvaner, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and a rarity found only here: Completer, an ancient, high-acid white grape documented in Malans since 1321 and named after Compline, the night prayer after which the canons of Chur drank the wine. As late as 1970 the canton had only about 200 hectares of vines, hardly any of them white; since then the area has doubled and the white share has risen to nearly 30 per cent.
Viticulture is ancient here: in 765 Bishop Tello of Chur bequeathed a vineyard near Ilanz to the monastery of Disentis, and Chur remained the canton’s wine capital until the late 19th century. Churer Schiller, a pale red wine from red and white grapes pressed together, keeps the memory alive.
What to drink: a Graubünden Pinot Noir with Capuns, Pizokel and Bündnerfleisch or with game, a mature Completer with alpine cheese, a Riesling-Silvaner with Maluns, a Churer Schiller as an aperitif.