A Guide To The Wine Region of Bern In Switzerland
By: Samuel Petersson
Tags: Guide, Winemaking, Wine, Switzerland, White Wine

Interlude

Welcome to the wine region of Bern in Switzerland. A place located in the western parts of the country. In the last post we made we cover a region called Fribourg. One that is included in a larger one called Finger Lakes. We are doing all these guides and posts to learn more about the very vast world of wine out there.

Hopefully we can scratch the surface a little bit and gain some knowledge along the way. Today we will discuss the history of the region, the style of wine that is made here, climate and geography and of course some places that you should look towards if you want to buy wine. So without further ado, let’s get started!

History of the region

So for the history of the region I strongly believe it is important to know the history of the country. As much of that applies to every region within it. Maybe not for countries like France where there is more documentation to wine production throughout the centuries. In countries like Switzerland, it can be very hard if not impossible to find information except for boring numbers or useless information. So with that said, now we will go over the country as a whole.

Switzerland is one of the oldest ones in Europe. Maybe not to the same extent that Geogrien is as they have history dating back more than 5000 years. In Switzerland there has been evidence found that wine was made as early as 200 years BC in the region today known as Valais. It was a small bottle made in ceramic found in a celtic tomb and text on the ceramic suggested that it once upon a time contained wine. The people of the country had a history of offering wine to the dead, but it can be assumed that they themselves als had traditions of consuming it.

This was around 150 years BC. After a century or so, the Romans appeared and established more and more vineyards drastically and the whole industry flourished. They got the chance to export a huge amount as the Roman empire grew and grew more. The actual production wine in the country has to be one of the best kept secrets in the entire world. There is a very small amount of wine that ever sees sites outside of Switzerland.

The Swiss just love their own wine too much. The entire country holds about 15,000 hectares of cultivated vineyards and there are about 1,500 different producers. The country was like many others in Europe the victim of the Phylloxera disaster that happened during the 19th century. Botanists from England traveled to North America to do research on the native vines growing there. They brought some back with them not knowing that they carried diseases not experienced by the European native varieties. This resulted in many bones having to be cut down and the winemakers were faced with a very hard decision.

Either they could continue with the native ones and riske the infection ones again or they could try and create hybrid ones that could withstand the disease. This was a major influence for the diversified grape varieties that now make up the country’s vineyards.

The style of wine

The most famous style of wine from here is actually a rose. Called Cabernet d’Anjou. A blend of both Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a blend that is allowed anywhere within the Loire valley too. But here it has found a place. Quite fitting too as the climate and geography plays into the qualities of the grapes.

The blend often features more Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The reason being the concentration of flavour the grapes get when grown in this climate. The other one can’t really handle being the dominant grape as the flavours will dilute and becomes something not resembling itself anymore. The region only has about 80 different winegrowers making.

The wines also have a very homey feeling to it. They feel like they have thought and passion behind them. Something that every wine enthusiast appreciates, or at least holds in my opinion. The blend has some rules as to the amount of residual sugar that needs to be left. 10g/l is the requirement. So you should not be surprised to find it off dry or even on the slight sweet side.

Climate and geography

The climate here is quite cool being located on the western side in Switzerland. They get a lot of influences from the mountains. Bringing in more colder winds and keeping the temperatures lower. Makes the grapes and wines more tannic and elegant in a way too. Elegance and tannic is something often felt together when the quality is good.

But it can be horrendous if the balance between them is off. Something that is not uncommon is that the wineries often act at a hobby level still. It should also be mentioned that the region is divided into two smaller districts. These are Bierlersee and Thunersee. The first one mentioned is technically a part of Finger Lakes too. A more french-speaking region too. The last one is the smallest one, with many alpine vineyards and only a total of 13 producers.

Recommendations

So what kind of wine do I like from here? I can not say that I have had many from the region. I would really love to though because it seems like a fun one to explore further. If I were to buy the best then I would go for the rose from here. Being the signature I expect it’s a style they know how to do very well.

Last words

That’s a wrap for this post about the region of Bern in Switzerland. I hope that you have enjoyed this and feel more confident or even inspired now. Stay tuned for the next post where we will cover the region of Ticino.

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