Travel: Justine Tyerman is lost in Lavaux

The picturesque little village of Rivaz. Photo / swiss-image.ch; Christof Sonderegger

The squiggles on the map Eric Bovy had drawn for me didn't seem to make sense, no matter which way I held the piece of paper.

It wasn't Eric's fault. My hopeless sense of direction combined with the glass of luscious chasselas on a warm autumn afternoon were enough to befuddle me . . . but I was quite happy meandering along the maze of small pathways that criss-cross the spectacular terraced vineyards of Lavaux, in the general direction of the Rivaz train station.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the vineyards cover more than 760ha along a 40km stretch of Lake Geneva from Lausanne to Montreux/Villeneuve in Switzerland.

Winemaking in the region dates back to the 12th century when monks constructed stone walls to support around 10,000 terraces on the steep slopes above the lake to create flat land to plant vineyards.

The Lavaux vineyards extend right to the edge of Lake Geneva. Photo / Justine Tyerman

The terraces are still there today, a vision of green and gold vines shimmering in the sunshine above the blue satin waters of Lake Geneva with the snowy alps in the distance.
As I strolled along the pathways, I could feel the warmth radiating off the stone walls.

"A unique factor about the vineyards of Lavaux is that they are exposed to three sources of heat — the sun, the reflection from the lake and the heat from the stone walls," Eric explained earlier in the day as we sat on a patio at his family's estate, Domaine Bovy, sipping aromatic Saint Saphorin.

"It's a real wine of the terroir — a terroir sponge," he said, swilling the golden chasselas in his glass.

A selection of Domaine Bovy wines available for tastings.Photo / Justine Tyerman

"The flavours of well-ripened fruit with an underlying minerality are typical of Saint Saphorin. It has wonderful depth and full body with a fresh, rounded finish, don't you think?"

"I couldn't agree more," I replied, somewhat out of my depth.

Chasselas is the dominant grape variety grown in Lavaux, accounting for about 80 per cent of the production. Around 30 other varieties are grown, including gewürztraminer, pinot gris, pinot noir, gamay, gamaret and garanoir.

"Chasselas vines like the clay and chalky limestone deposited when glaciers receded after the last ice age 12,000 years ago. Back then, Lavaux was buried under ice 2000m deep."
It was hard to imagine this sunny hillside as a frozen landscape, locked in ice.

Domaine Bovy uses organic sprays, and the vines were grafted against phyloxera which struck the region in 1900.

The grapes are all hand-harvested because the terrain is too steep for machines to operate. Harvest takes place in October over a two-week period with around 15-16 pickers.

The huge barrels in the cellar at Domaine Bovy are decorated with murals painted by Eric's father. Photo / ©swiss-image.ch; Hans-Peter Siffert

The wine is stored in huge barrels, some 400 years old. The barrels each hold from 2000 to 7000 litres of wine and are decorated with beautiful murals created by Eric's father, Maurice, from whom Eric and his brother inherited the estate. They produce about 60,000 bottles a year.

When I visited, the vines were mostly under nets for bird protection.
"The birds go crazy over grapes, especially red varieties and especially near trees where they nest," said Eric.

It's a busy schedule at Domaine Bovy which hosts up to 10,000 visitors a year.
In the garden, a wedding was taking place with the lake and alps as a backdrop.

Even after 20 years, Eric is still in love with growing grapes and making wine.

"I grew up here . . . I have wine in my veins. Our son is due to start a grape-growing apprenticeship so there will hopefully be another generation of Bovys on the land soon."

The sign at Chexbres pointing to Domaine Bovy. Photo / Justine Tyerman

I wished Eric 'bonne chance' and set off, map in hand. Eventually, I located the picturesque little village of Rivaz and the train station. Signposts pointed to a cluster of vineyards and 'Vinorama' where I discovered I could sample more than 300 Lavaux wines . . . fortunately the train arrived just in time.

Justine Tyerman was a guest of Switzerland Tourism and Montreux Riviera Tourism, and travelled courtesy of the Swiss Travel Pass and Swiss International Air Lines.

The Swiss Travel Pass also provides free access to more than 500 museums around the country.