Valais

Valais is Switzerland's largest wine region, sprawling along the upper Rhône valley between Martigny and Visp. Sheltered by 3,000-metre Alpine peaks on both sides and warmed by the Foehn wind in autumn, Valais ripens grapes at a latitude and altitude where nothing else should ripen. The region's ~4,800 hectares grow more than 50 varieties, with Pinot Noir and Chasselas (sold as Fendant) leading by volume but with rare native grapes like Petite Arvine, Cornalin, Humagne Rouge, Heida and Amigne carrying the region's identity. Syrah has found a growing home on the warm central Valais slopes around Chamoson and Saint-Léonard. This is where the Rhône begins its journey: the same river flows down into France, where Syrah reaches its powerful, beautifully structured peak in the famous appellations of the Northern Rhône. The cantonal "Appellations communales" hierarchy gives village-specific AOCs to Sion, Sierre, Salgesch, Visperterminen, Fully, Chamoson and a dozen other communes. Producers like Gilliard, Provins, Marie-Thérèse Chappaz, Madeleine and Jean-René Germanier work some of the steepest, sunniest slopes in European wine.