CHASSELAS

Better known as a table grape, it sometimes produces rare exceptional wines.

Chasselas

Also known as Fendant, Gutedel.

Yep, this grape you can eat is also a wine grape variety! Chasselas produces remarkable wines in cold and alpine climates. In France, it is cultivated in Alsace (rare, mostly in blends), but also in the Loire region where it is the mono grape variety of Pouilly sur Loire. It is also found in Savoie, and nearby in the Swiss vineyards where it is known to produce Fendant du Valais and Dorins in the Canton of Vaud. It is the most planted white grape variety in Switzerland.

It is asociated with an appellation of controlled origin (AOC) at Moissac in the Tarn and Garonne.

It produces still or slightly sparkling white wines. Fresh and floral, they linger in the mouth with a pleasant bitterness.

WHERE IS IT FOUND?
In France and all over the world

FRANCE

- Savoie
- Central Loire
- Alsace

WORLDWIDE

- Switzerland
- Germany
- Italy
- Austria

MAIN APPELLATIONS
By type of wine: White

- Alsace Chasselas
- Pouilly sur Loire
- Savoy Wine (Crépy, Ripaille)
- Lavaux (Switzerland)

SHALL WE TASTE?
In the glass

dry whites

Refined wine. Pale colour, it gains in depth with time. Discreet aromas with hints of dried fruit, linden and acacia, it is light in the mouth, sometimes evoking a mineral touch of flint. Chasselas offers fleeting flavours, which encourage consumption when young. Some vintages can show a beading effect (small bubbles of carbon dioxide), which brings more liveliness when well mastered. When more concentrated, like the wines from the exposed slopes of Lavaux (Switzerland), the wine offers at maturity singular notes of undergrowth (wild mushrooms) or honey.

FOOD AND WINE PAIRINGS
Chasselas, not just in your glass

dry whites

Aperitif. Cold starters with fish or vegetables (terrines, asparagus, artichokes), fried food, savoury tarts. River or lake fish. Fresh cheese.

OUR CHASSELAS'...

CHASSELAS
More Information

Lavaux, a wine-growing heritage that honours chasselas.

Cultivated on the slopes of Lake Geneva at Lavaux in Switzerland, Chasselas is low yielding and hard to grow, which makes this wine scarce.

A UNESCO-LISTED TREASURE

Bordered in part by Lake Geneva and dominated by the Alps, Lavaux is the jewel of the Swiss Riviera. Famous for its terraced vineyards, this site in the canton of Vaud has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 28 June 2007. The Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (Lavaux AOC) embodies the most famous and prestigious of the 8 existing Vaud appellations (Chablais, Lavaux, Dézaley Grand cru, Calamin Grand cru, La Côte, Côtes-de-l'Orbe, Bonvillars and Vully). On the dizzying slopes tumbling down to the lake, which the winegrowers have gradually learned to tame, the fendant (chasselas) is the king grape variety! With more than 10,000 plots of vines bordered by 400 kilometres of low walls, a titanic work carried out in the Middle Ages by Cistercian monks, this landscape is breathtaking!

The adventure began in the 11th century, after the arrival of a new bishop in Lausanne. The latter had the intuition that the slopes, well exposed to the sun, would lend themselves to viticulture. Little by little, in 3 centuries, the clearing of land and the development of terraces supported by low walls gave birth to the landscape we know today. A landscape shaped by man and which has known only one exploitation through the ages: the cultivation of the vine.

For some time now, a side activity coexists with the work of the producers: wine tourism. Bed and breakfast at the winegrowers', walks in the vineyards on foot or by bike, these steep slopes attract tourists, from the novice to the expert, who can literally quench their thirst for curiosity with the tasting of the red fendant.The site has moreover been classified as a place to visit by the New York Times in 2016 among more than fifty destinations. It ranks 25th, ahead of Washington (26th), Barcelona (29th) and Sydney (51st).Can you imagine for a second, enjoying the freshness of a glass of Chasselas under the warming sun on a balcony overlooking Lake Geneva. A panoramic view of the mountains with your eyes flooded with sunlight... Discover it all in your glass, and if it captures your tastebuds, why not visit this magnificent region?