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.