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News + Events
Getting to Know Swiss Wines: A Visit to the Valais
by Nick Malgieri
As soon as I met Gilles Besse I knew I would be in for an informative and delicious visit. An owner, along with Jean-Rene Germanier of Le Bon Pere William and Germanier wines and spirits, Besse has all the passion and enthusiasm you would expect from someone who spends all his time working on something he really loves. The Germanier family started in the wine business in the Valais at the end of the 19th century and has continued to uphold high standards of quality since then. Also known as distillers of the Bon Pere William brand of pear brandy, the family has orchards and vineyards in nearby Balavaud.
A fourth generation oenologist in the family, Besse led us through a tasting of some of the best wines Germanier makes. We tasted a Petite Arvine 2002 that was typically dry with fruity overtones; an Amigne de Vetroz 2002, slightly sweet with a lively fruit flavor; Humagne Rouge 2001, aged in wood with deep tannic overtones; and a Cayas Syrah, 2000, a robust wine that would continue to mature for years to come. Before we had a tasting of the famous pear brandy, we had a taste of a unique dessert wine made under the name of Mitis. Made from the Amigne de Vetroz grapes, some of the grapes are allowed to remain on the vine until they become dry and slightly moldy. This botrytis mold is responsible for the unique taste of many world-class dessert wines, including the famous Chateau d’Yquem of France. As you can see, the Valais is in the forefront of wine-making techniques worldwide and the Germanier Company is one of the foremost practitioners in the Valais.
The pear brandy was all I expected, aromatic (it smells just like a perfectly ripe Bartlett pear from which it’s made), syrupy and just strong enough to make a few sips plenty. My favorite after-dinner drink, I always keep a bottle chilled in the freezer when it’s cold the fruit flavor comes through and the bitterness of the high alcohol content is somewhat dulled.
The tasting and sales rooms at Germanier are open weekdays from 5pm to 11pm and on Saturdays from 10:30am to 8pm. If you’re in the area, it’s a great place to stop for some great wine to take home.
Rolet's Vin Jaune at the French Laundry
Tasted Magazine features a review of wines from Rolet Père et Fils in Jura , paired with dishes from chef Thomas Keller's famous Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry.
”A truly great and underrated wines style that should get more attention. It pairs especially well with cheese such as Comté or Gruyère, it has the tanginess of a great Sherry, yet with some more freshness and a lot of complexity. Enjoy at around 14°C / 58°F”.
Swiss Cellars’s 6th Anniversary
Celebrating the arrival of our first container of Swiss wines on July 24,
2003, and our first deliveries to Madison and New Glarus, WI, wine stores
and restaurants on July 25. Our story started with just over 600 cases of
twelve wines from three Swiss wineries, Cave de La Côte, La Baudelière
and René Favre & Fils. Thank you all for your support!
Food & Wine Article - Daniel Humm
There is an article in Food & Wine magazine (July 2009, page 188) about
Daniel Humm, a young and promising Swiss chef who opened a high-end
restaurant in NYC. The magazine requested Swiss wine samples from several
importers and included in this article a column titled “Five Great
Swiss Wines” with the comment “These delicious bottlings are
available in the US and are worth searching out”. Two of these
wines are imported by Swiss Cellars:
Cave de La Cote Oenoline La Cote (Chasselas) 2007
“This light-bodied, refreshing white, from a winery on the shores of Lake Geneva – Switzerland’s most widely planted grape.”
Caves Cidis Gamaret La Cote 05
“Gamaret is a Swiss hybrid grape created in the 1970s by crossing
Reichensteiner with Gamay, yielding spicy, rustic wines. Caves
Cidis’ version is slightly smoky, with cassis notes”
July 9, 2009
Our latest French container just landed with 1,121 cases of 43 wines from
12 producers from the regions of Alsace, Bordeaux, Jura, Languedoc, Loire
and Rhône
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Welcome to Swiss Cellars |
Thank you for visiting Swiss Cellars! Take a few moments to surf our site
and learn about our product selection. We are sure you will enjoy reading
about great wines from a small country. And please remember that Swiss
products are world-famous for their highest quality.
Beside our Swiss beers and distilled spirits, Swiss Cellars has been busy
diversifying its portfolio beyond Swiss wines. We now have a fine
selection of over 500 French, Italian, Spanish, German, Austrian, Greek,
American, Argentinean, Chilean, Uruguayan, South African, Australian and
New Zealander wines, including a line of organic wines from France, Italy
and Spain, as well as fine French liqueurs, brandies and apple ciders,
many of which are imported directly.
We currently distribute our Swiss wines in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin, and our beers and eaux-de-vie in Illinois, New York and Wisconsin. If you live in another state and would like to get any of our products, make sure to contact us. Shipping is possible to many states (but not all due to restrictive regulations). Please contact us for more information and pricing. We work with retailers who ship inter-state. We
will gladly inform you about the shipping options.
Would you like to be notified about upcoming tastings, events and new arrivals? Yes, then please send us an email at infoATswisscellars.com, indicating your name, address and email address.
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