The World Chasselas Conservatory

At the Chasselas Conservatory in Rivaz, not a grape in sight.

That’s it… the harvest is now over, or almost! The few bunches still on the vines will continue to ripen and slowly shrivel. Picked late, they will produce wines richer in sugar and alcohol.

I love this little corner of paradise, not only for its stunning view but also for this unique, unusual plot. Here, on 4,500 m², you can discover the 19 main biotypes of Chasselas and admire their differences: berry size, foliage, colour…

A project launched in 2008 by Louis-Philippe Bovard of Cully, it aims to raise public awareness of the biological richness of this “king” grape variety and its important place in the history of the Lake Geneva region.

In front of each vine, a plaque displays the name of its particular feature – such as its colour, in the case of red Chasselas or violet Chasselas; the Chasselas muscaté for its aromatic profile; the Chasselas giclet, referring to a berry that bursts under pressure instead of splitting like the Fendant; and certain morphological traits that can be spotted with the naked eye, as with the Chasselas tétraploïde, which appeared accidentally and carries two sets of chromosomes.

Present in the canton of Vaud for 1,000 years, this great clonal diversity has developed over the centuries through natural, intentional, or accidental genetic mutation. An information display presents, in a simple way, the main characteristics of each clone.

(Descriptions written in three languages by Jean-Laurent Spring, Agroscope.)

• Since 2017, another collection of the main biotypes has been established at Laura & Raymond Paccot’s Domaine La Colombe (Mont-sur-Rolle vineyard plot), with the aim of measuring the impact of climate on the grape variety and its terroir.

  The Vini’filles Wine Tour on La Côte, offered by Passionnément’vin in its online gift box shop, invites you to discover this conservatory as part of your experience.

  Find out more: https://passionnement-vin.secretbox.ch/vini-filles-sur-la-cote.html

Recognised as a table grape, it is grown on around 40,000 hectares in France (Loire Valley, Alsace, and the southwest), but its cultivation also extends to Germany, Romania, the former Yugoslavia, North Africa, Chile, and New Zealand.

It is in Switzerland, however, that it has found its favourite terroir (and we fully intend to keep it!). Agroscope in Pully is home to the world’s largest clonal conservatory, with more than 380 Chasselas clones and today its preservation is assured.

Angel