Fine Wines give Geneva a Great Evening

Published by Sunday, December 5, 2010 Permalink 0
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Kickoff of Switzerland’s spring wine tastings: Berthaudin at the Beau Rivage

Massaya comes from a long line of winemakers, and has expanded the family business into a distributorship of wines of a quality that only someone “born in the vines” could put together.

His spring wine tasting Tuesday 5 May at the Geneva Beau Rivage hotel offered a well-balanced collection of hand-picked wines from all over the world, including the sought-after Lebanese wine Massaya.

Berthaudin: Geneva and Vaud wines, and it’s a family affair

Claude Berthaudin.

The Berthaudin family presented an impressive assortment of their own wines, all produced in Geneva and canton Vaud. Sabrina, Claude’s wife, produces very “nice price” wines of a respectable quality, at Le Crêt in Satigny. Her Crêt Barrique was the Guide Hachette’s 2003 Coup de Coeur – in other words, the judges fell in love with it on first “taste.”

The family collection is extended by their vineyards in canton Vaud, located in Tartegnin-sur-Rolle. The Les Feuillantines line, produced by oenologist John Pernet, offers good quality for the money with their Gewuerztraminer de Tartegnin 2005, for example, which would be a perfect compliment to a choucroute.

Wines from all over Switzerland

Berthaudin is a master at balance. Swiss wines from Valais, Lavaux, Chablais, Neuchatel, Tessin, Zurich and Graubuenden round off his well-composed selection of Swiss wines.

Top names in French wines

Mr Berthaudin is a master consultant for French wines, so there were some top names in attendance, such as Mr Faiveley himself with so many Nuits Saint-Georges 1er Cru to taste that one didn’t know where to start; Mrs  Chapoutier (Chapoutier is the largest organic wine producer in France), with a wide choice of Rhone Valley wines and their exquisite Côte Rôtie, and wines from Provence, the Southwest and an extensive number of Bordeaux with prices to suit all pockets.

Gosset champagne, one of the oldest

 

A whole world of wine, plus Gosset champagne

Italy, Spain, Portugal Lebanon, Australia, Argentina, Chili, Uruguay, California and Morocco were also not forgotten, although they were grouped on a small table off to the side.

Gosset champagne dates from 1584.  It is of an exceptional quality, full of aroma and body, and is bottled in a beautifully shaped, sensual bottle somewhat resembling that of Ruinart. The bottle itself  adds a decorative touch to any table.

Gosset champagne makes a change from the usual names, and is a wonderful way to introduce your guests to something a little different.

Definitely something to try, and once again there’s a price for everyone.

An exceptional tasting event

It was an exceptional tasting for several reasons:

  • Quality, even in the lowest price ranges
  • Variety, not only in terms of Switzerland, but in terms of all wine-producing countries
  • Size: not too many wines, not too many people
  • Time: from 14:00-20:00, giving people plenty of time to come and go, so it was never overcrowded
  • Cocktail and dinner afterwards: see the coming The Rambling Epicure article for more about the gastronomic dinner by Dominique Gauthier, named Switzerland’s top chef of the year for 2009.

You might think of buying the Swiss Wine Guide for help in choosing wines close to home from among this wide variety of wines.

Berthaudin 43, rte des Jeunes, 1227 Carouge, Geneva

Telephone: +41 22 732 0626
E-mail: info@berthaudin.ch

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