When autumn arrives in Switzerland, the pots start to steam. Game, fondue, chinoise, raclette. And every time the question is the same: which wine do I pair with it? I wanted to answer by moving away from the cliché of the usual Merlot and the usual Fendant.

Swiss wine, the unknown

First myth to bust: in Switzerland, you do not drink only white wine. More than half of the vineyards are red grape varieties, and the most cultivated variety is Pinot Nero, slightly ahead of Chasselas, which in Valais is called Fendant. Second surprise: we drink almost all Swiss wine ourselves, very little goes abroad. For this reason, a local wine is never a fallback. There are few bottles and a lot of variety.

A tour in three stops

Valais is the king, with Fendant but also grapes you find almost only there: Petite Arvine, Heida, Johannisberg, Dôle, and Humagne Rouge, a slightly wild red. Vaud is the land of Chasselas. And then our home, Ticino: small, almost all Merlot, with low yields and ripe grapes. We are probably the only place in the world where Merlot blanc is made. And there is Bondola, a Ticino grape almost extinct, which became the first Swiss wine Slow Food Presidium.

Game

The saddle of roe deer Baden-Baden, with pears stuffed with cranberries and spätzli, is a delicate and slightly sweet dish. No muscular red: you need a fine Pinot Nero, lightly marked by wood, from Neuchâtel, German-speaking Switzerland, or Bündner Herrschaft, served around 16 degrees. With a venison civet, on the other hand, the Humagne Rouge from Valais seems made for it.

Fondue, chinoise, bourguignonne, raclette

Golden rule: with melted cheese, watch out for tannins, which make it hard and abrupt. For moitié-moitié, Chasselas, or a Ticino Merlot blanc. For raclette, Fendant, Petite Arvine, Johannisberg, or Heida, or a Dôle if you want a red. For chinoise, a wildcard: a rosé or a light Dôle, and some bubbles with the shrimp. For bourguignonne, a red with more energy, a Ticino Merlot that is not too woody or a Syrah from Valais. And if you lose your bread in the fondue, tradition says you buy a round. The only pairing that never goes wrong.

Come and taste them. We serve Swiss wines by the glass with the Coravin. Coravin Wine Bar, Via Carlo Maderno 23, Lugano. Cheers!