Papa, Winemaker

They say there is nothing like a free lunch, well John and I got a free lunch and some gorgeous wine to take home with us.

We were invited over to my Father’s chalet today for an al fresco lunch. View of the mountains. Sun shining. Lovely food. All accounted for. However, we hadn’t realised why my Dad had lured us there… to help him bottle his white wine. Back in August 2009, I recounted my Dad’s foray into winemaking. The Pinot Noir he produced in that first year was outstanding, very drinkable and dangerously moreish. He’s since bought a few more vineyards, including some white wine varieties such as Petite Arvine and Johannisberg. The plots are much smaller in size and therefore don’t need to be processed via Blaise Dubuis, a winemaker of the region.

John has had the chance to witness the process from beginning to end as he helped picked the grapes back in the autumn. The wine was kept in a container in the garage and had to go through several processes and tests. Today it was ready to be bottled. It took us 2 hours to fill and cork 120 bottles. It was a brilliant experience. And the wine? Made from Petite Arvine, Johannisberg and Marsanne grape varieties, it smells of green apples, it’s light and fresh, quite simply delicious. Just in time for summer.