Geneva letter
The coast vineyard, on the Vaud borders of Lake Geneva, produces sumptuous Chasselas. For four centuries, this white grape variety has shone on shale and limestone soils. They give it a discreet bouquet and a more mineral than floral mouth, with almost imperceptible sparkle. However, these qualities are not enough to reduce the bitterness of Swiss winegrowers, which grows at the same rate that sales decrease. Wine consumption in Confederation fell 8 % in 2024, and even 16 % for Swiss wines.
Switzerland is no exception to the global trend. World wine consumption decreased by 3.3 % last year, reaching 214 million hectoliters, its lowest level since 1961. According to the Federal Agriculture Office in Bern, the market share of Swiss wine has lost almost 4 points in a single year, going from 38.9 % to 35.5 %. And the trend should continue: as elsewhere in Europe, wine consumption collapses, particularly among young people.
Signs of the times, the Schenk group, the largest housing in the country, sent a letter at the end of June to its Vaudois and Geneva suppliers, announcing that he could not engage in the full management of the 2025 in AOC harvest. “We reserve the possibility of downgrading a part of country wine and table wine and do not offer any guarantee on its valuation”writes the group based in Rolle, on the Vaud coast. Although the stocks of unsold people accumulate, we do not yet speak in Switzerland of massive tearing of CEPS, as is already the case, for example in the Bordeaux and in the southwest, two regions obeyed by their overproduction.
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Source: Lemonde