Wine region
Three Lakes
Neuchâtel, Lake Biel and the Vully: about 950 hectares of Pinot Noir and Chasselas on limestone below the Jura, the home of Œil-de-Perdrix and Non Filtré.
- Vineyard area
- about 950 hectares: Neuchâtel about 600, Lake Biel about 220, Vully about 150
- Main grapes
- Pinot Noir (nearly half), Chasselas (about a quarter), Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Freiburger
- Soils and climate
- Jura limestone and moraine, sandstone in the Vully; the lakes temper frost and heat
- Signature wines
- Œil-de-Perdrix, Neuchâtel Non Filtré, Pinot Noir, Chasselas from Lake Biel
- Landmark
- the wine villages of Twann and Ligerz on Lake Biel and the Mont Vully above Lake Murten
The Three Lakes region is the smallest of the six Swiss wine regions and one of the most traditional. About 950 hectares of vines, nearly 6 per cent of the Swiss vineyard, are spread over three areas in three cantons: the Neuchâtel vineyard with about 600 hectares on the north shore of Lake Neuchâtel, Lake Biel with about 220 hectares in the canton of Bern, and the Vully with about 150 hectares on Lake Murten, two thirds in Fribourg and one third in Vaud. The three lakes store warmth, temper frost and heat and reflect the sun onto the slopes; the vines grow almost everywhere at the foot of the Jura on limestone and moraine, in the Vully on sandstone.
Unlike in Vaud, Pinot Noir is the leading grape here: it covers nearly half the area, in the canton of Neuchâtel even about 55 per cent. The Neuchâtel growers make it into a fine, Burgundian-style red and above all into Œil-de-Perdrix, the pale rosé that after a short maceration takes on the colour of a partridge’s eye; the first documented label dates from 1861, at Areuse. Chasselas, about a quarter of the area, gives a light, often spritzy white. Since 1975 part of it has been bottled as Neuchâtel Non Filtré, unfiltered and cloudy, with its fine lees in the bottle; it may not be sold before the third Wednesday of January and counts as the first wine of the year. Pinot Gris and Chardonnay complete the picture; Auvernier, Cortaillod and Cressier are the best-known wine villages.
On Lake Biel the vines run down in steep, south-facing terraces from the foot of the Jura to the water, between Twann, Ligerz and La Neuveville, opposite St. Peter’s Island. Chasselas and Pinot Noir dominate, joined by Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer; the area belongs to the canton of Bern but counts as part of French-speaking Switzerland under wine law. The Vully on the southern slope of the Mont Vully above Lake Murten, with the villages of Môtier, Praz, Lugnorre and Sugiez, is the smallest area; Chasselas and Pinot Noir are accompanied by specialities such as Freiburger, the local name for Freisamer, and Traminer. Since 2011 Fribourg and Vaud have shared a joint AOC Vully.
Neuchâtel introduced its AOC in 1993; in the 20th century the region was a pioneer of quality Swiss Pinot Noir, and its limestone soils explain why the wines are fresher and tauter here than in Valais.
What to drink: Œil-de-Perdrix as an aperitif and with charcuterie, Non Filtré with fondue or saucisse neuchâteloise, Neuchâtel Pinot Noir with lamb and mushroom dishes, a Lake Biel Chasselas with whitefish from the lake, a Vully Freiburger with Vacherin fribourgeois.