info suisse Spring 2015
Food & Beverage | Gastronomy
Food & Beverage | Gastronomy
March 2015
Switzerland's Fifty shades of grapes!
(Michaël Schlegel)
You are probably familiar with the wonders of Switzerland, from the beautiful landscapes to delicious chocolate and state-of-the-art watchmaking manufactures, one could think the Swiss have it all. Well, what if we told you that the small neutral country had yet another hidden treasure?
Enters SwissGrapes: a young start-up company based in Lausanne, Switzerland, founded in 2013 by six young entrepreneurs all graduates from the hospitality management school Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne and HEC Lausanne.
They have a common passion for wine and aim to introduce Switzerland’s best kept secret to the rest of the world.
They were already aware of the potential their country held while studying but it’s really when they all travelled across the country after graduating that they discovered the surprising, delicious and various shades of wine from Schaffhausen, Ticino and Valais to name only but a few Cantons.
“Swiss wines are not well known worldwide for a fairly simple reason: exportations represent less than 2% of the Swiss production, our wines have no international exposure and SwissGrapes wants to change this, starting with Canada.” explains Michaël Schlegel,co-founder of SwissGrapes.
Through the SAQ’s private import channel, one can find a SwissGrapes selection of what they consider the best of Swiss wines available in the province of Québec since the beginning of the year. Michaël explains SwissGrapes’ portfolio strategy: “In terms of grape varieties, Switzerland has a very diverse yet complex landscape. We selected the most typical grapes that best represent the characteristics of each of our wine regions. And above all, we chose the wines that we really enjoy!”
Moreover, Swissgrapes firmly believes in environmental and organic winemaking. “Cultivating the vineyard with a sustainable approach, directly translates into the precision and the quality of a wine.” explains Nicolas Kiss, co-founder of SwissGrapes.
Throughout their passion and over the years, the entrepreneurs have met and come closer to their partnering winemakers. “It is essential to have close relationships with our suppliers. It allows us to know more about their work processes and ethics and we are blessed to witness the passion they put into it.”
So far the recipe seems to be working as some of the distinguished Swiss winemakers such as Raymond Paccot, Urs Pircher or Martin Donatsch support the start-up. With currently eight wine producers integrating the project, SwissGrapes is covering the five biggest wine regions in the country and as the venture develops they shall present additional regions and wineries.
It is simple to place an order: visit www.swissgrapes.com, select your wines, choose which SAQ point of sale you wish to have your wine delivered in and proceed with the import fees.
The wines will be there within one week. Cheers!
They have a common passion for wine and aim to introduce Switzerland’s best kept secret to the rest of the world.
They were already aware of the potential their country held while studying but it’s really when they all travelled across the country after graduating that they discovered the surprising, delicious and various shades of wine from Schaffhausen, Ticino and Valais to name only but a few Cantons.
“Swiss wines are not well known worldwide for a fairly simple reason: exportations represent less than 2% of the Swiss production, our wines have no international exposure and SwissGrapes wants to change this, starting with Canada.” explains Michaël Schlegel,co-founder of SwissGrapes.
Through the SAQ’s private import channel, one can find a SwissGrapes selection of what they consider the best of Swiss wines available in the province of Québec since the beginning of the year. Michaël explains SwissGrapes’ portfolio strategy: “In terms of grape varieties, Switzerland has a very diverse yet complex landscape. We selected the most typical grapes that best represent the characteristics of each of our wine regions. And above all, we chose the wines that we really enjoy!”
Moreover, Swissgrapes firmly believes in environmental and organic winemaking. “Cultivating the vineyard with a sustainable approach, directly translates into the precision and the quality of a wine.” explains Nicolas Kiss, co-founder of SwissGrapes.
Throughout their passion and over the years, the entrepreneurs have met and come closer to their partnering winemakers. “It is essential to have close relationships with our suppliers. It allows us to know more about their work processes and ethics and we are blessed to witness the passion they put into it.”
So far the recipe seems to be working as some of the distinguished Swiss winemakers such as Raymond Paccot, Urs Pircher or Martin Donatsch support the start-up. With currently eight wine producers integrating the project, SwissGrapes is covering the five biggest wine regions in the country and as the venture develops they shall present additional regions and wineries.
It is simple to place an order: visit www.swissgrapes.com, select your wines, choose which SAQ point of sale you wish to have your wine delivered in and proceed with the import fees.
The wines will be there within one week. Cheers!
