Switzerland

Vaud

Switzerland wine regions

About Vaud

Vaud is the home of Chasselas and of the UNESCO terraced vineyards of Lavaux. The canton's ~3,800 hectares stretch in a near-continuous band along Lake Geneva's north shore, from La Côte's gentle slopes near the French border, across Lavaux's vertiginous stone-walled terraces, to the Chablais on the Rhône delta. Eight AOCs structure the region: La Côte (the largest), Lavaux (the most acclaimed), Chablais, Bonvillars, Côtes de l'Orbe and Vully on the regional tier, with Calamin and Dézaley as the country's only two appellation-level Grand Crus. The signature is precise, mineral, lake-shaped Chasselas, though Pinot Noir, Gamay and the local crossing Gamaret have a growing presence. Producers like Louis Bovard, Domaine de la Pierre Latine, Pierre-Luc Leyvraz, Domaine Blaise Duboux and the historic Domaine du Daley anchor Lavaux.

Switzerland wine regions

Appellations

What Vaud produces

AOC Vaud

The canton-wide regional designation, used for wines that draw from anywhere in the canton or sit outside the eight named regional AOCs.

Dorin

A historic trade name for Vaud Chasselas, less common on modern labels but still seen on traditional producers' lines. Synonym for the canton's everyday Chasselas.

Salvagnin

Vaud's traditional red blend, Pinot Noir and Gamay with a small share of Gamaret or Garanoir. The cantonal counterpart to Valais's Dôle.

Servagnin de Morges

A Morges-protected Pinot Noir style, descended from cuttings the Cistercian monks brought to Vaud in 1420. The oldest Swiss Pinot tradition still in production.

Grapes of Vaud

Pinot Noir

Plant Robert, Blauburgunder or Blauburgunder in Vaud

strawberryraspberryred cherryviolet

A growing share alongside Chasselas, often blended into Salvagnin

Chardonnay

Body

Sweetness

Acidity

green applelemonpearnectarine

Small but ambitious plots, often in Lavaux and the Vaudois Chablais

Gamay

raspberryred cherryplumcranberry

A secondary red, often blended into Salvagnin

Chasselas

Dorin or Gutedel in Vaud

Body

Sweetness

Acidity

white flowerslemonwhite peachalmond

Light, fresh, slightly spritzy when young; the everyday Vaud white

Gamaret

black cherryblackberrysweet spiceviolet

Used in Salvagnin blends to add structure to Pinot Noir and Gamay

Climate

TemperateLake-moderatedLight reflectionMild winters

Lake Geneva is the region's radiator, softening winters, steadying summers, and holding warmth deep into autumn. In Lavaux the growers speak of three suns: the one in the sky, its reflection off the lake, and the heat the stone terrace walls release overnight.

Terroir

TerracesLimestoneMarlSandstone

Beneath the vines lies the compacted sandstone and conglomerate of the old molasse basin, mixed with limestone and marl carried down from the Alps. Lavaux's terraces turn a slope too steep to farm into a staircase of shallow, stony soil, while La Côte rolls more gently toward the Jura on deeper ground.

Typical Aromas

HoneysuckleLake stoneAlmondCitrus pithCrushed flintAcacia

Explore the aroma wheel

More in Switzerland

Geneva

German Switzerland

Three Lakes

Ticino

Valais