Wine Tasting

Two weekends before Ben and I headed to Copenhagen, we took a short trip a little closer to home-- a region of the Lavaux wine region just east of Geneva. Although Ben and I had been biking through the Lavaux previously, we hadn't actually visited a wine cellar or local wine tasting.

This particular trip, organized by the EPFL's XChange Student Union, was part of Le Bourru, an enormous wine-tasting festival taking place at the end of the fall grape harvest. Around twenty local vineyards opened their cellars (or, in French, caves) and offered some of their best wines for tasting. After paying an admission price, we each received a small wine glass which we could take to the different caves to be given a sample of wine. Although I tried several varieties, I definitely preferred the vin douce. The Lavaux is known for white wine, and these super-sweet dessert whites were absolutely superb. 

In addition to wine, the individual caves also offered autumn-appropriate appetizers: crisp apples, pumpkin soup, fire-roasted chestnuts, and (of course!) chocolate and cheese. The entire afternoon was a culinary delight, with fantastic weather and company to boot. 

Although the wine and snacks were fantastic, my favorite aspect of the festival was the overall atmosphere. There were loads of people meandering around the vineyards and caves- groups of friends, couples, families, even puppies! Nearly all of the caves also had large picnic tables set up outside, where people could sit, eat, drink, and chat in the sunshine. The overall feel was cheerful and festive, and perfect for people-watching. 

one cave shows off its wine selection.

chestnuts rosting by an open fire....!

apples might possible be my all-time favorite food.  

relaxing at a table outside of a cave- so lovely!

hot creamy soup- so perfect! 

each of the caves was given a number and each
wine-taster was given a map with admission showing where
the different caves were located.  

pumpkins! 

another one of my favorites: vin chaud, or "hot wine".

inside a cellar.

we chatted with the vineyard owner for a bit (yes, in
French!) and he told us that this house, the wine cellar,
and the surrounding vineyard had been in his family for
six generations!

while meandering through the vineyards, I may have
tried one of the grapes that had yet to be harvested....

large container where wine is allowed
to mature. 

in addition to wine glasses, we were given these goofy
neck-pouches to carry our glasses around in. pretty
snazzy, don't you think?
left to right: me, viday, amy. 

one of the tables outside of a cave- so festive!

immature wine- the wine maker allowed
us to try it and it was very, very
bitter. 

persimmons! I really wanted to try one, but unfortunately,
they weren't quite ripe yet. 

in addition to offering appetizers and samples,
many caves had home-made breads and
sweets for sale. 

by far the largest cave we visited, this cave included stalls
for local artists and craftsmen, as well as a chocolate
fountain!

the wine-maturation containers were used to support
paintings by local artists. 

even the puppy had a wine glass-
holder!