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Swiss wine guide

Serving, storing, understanding labels: three short guides to enjoy Swiss wine

A glass of red wine and a glass of white wine side by side, seen close up
Photo: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (licence)

This wine guide answers the three questions people ask in front of a bottle: what temperature to serve it at, how long to keep it, and what the labels on it mean. Every tip comes from a Swiss source, such as the regional wine trade bodies or FiBL, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture.

What is in each guide?

Serving: the right temperature for each style, the glass that suits it, when to decant and in what order to serve several bottles. Plus how to chill a bottle that is too warm, fast.

Storing: where to keep bottles with or without a cellar, how long a wine keeps unopened, and what to do with an opened bottle.

Organic, natural and labels: what Organic, the Bio Suisse Bud, Demeter and vegan guarantee, who checks what, and why “natural wine” is not a label in Switzerland.

Helvitic's six wine styles

On Helvitic, every wine belongs to one of six styles, the same on wine pages and in the guides: Crisp & light, Round & fruity, Supple & fruity, Powerful & structured, Fresh & festive, and Sweet & indulgent. They describe what you will taste, not the grape or the winemaking.

A Fendant or Chasselas is Crisp & light; a Cornalin or Humagne Rouge, Powerful & structured; an Œil-de-Perdrix, Fresh & festive.

Three rules worth remembering

Serve a little cooler than you think. Swiss Wine Valais, the Valais wine body, finds that most wines are served too warm: a room at 20 or 21 °C is too warm for a red, which is better served at 16 to 18 °C when full-bodied.

Do not fill the glass: two or three fingers is enough, to leave room for the aromas, according to the same source.

Re-cork an opened bottle straight away and put it in the fridge, even a red: cold slows down oxidation.

And these wines on Helvitic?

Sales are not open on Helvitic yet: payment is still being tested. You can already browse the grape and region pages, discover the wineries and follow them to hear about new wines.

Key points

  • Serving: temperature, glass, decanting and order of wines.
  • Storing: where to keep bottles, how long, and the opened bottle.
  • Labels: Organic, Bud, Demeter, vegan, and what natural wine is and is not.
  • Six wine styles, the same on every Helvitic wine page.
  • Every figure is sourced.

Frequently asked questions

What temperature should red wine be served at?

15 to 16 °C for a light red, 16 to 18 °C for a full-bodied one, according to Swiss Wine Valais. Room temperature, around 20 °C, is too warm.

How long does an opened bottle keep?

Three to five days for a white or rosé, three to six days for a red, one to three days for a sparkling wine, re-corked and in the fridge, according to Swiss Wine Valais.

Is natural wine organic?

Not necessarily. “Natural wine” has no official definition in Switzerland; most producers farm organically, but only a label such as Organic, the Bud or Demeter guarantees it.

Sources