LETTER FROM GENEVA

The La Côte vineyard on the Vaud shores of Lake Geneva has been producing magnificent Chasselas wines for four centuries. This white grape variety has flourished within the region's schist and limestone soil, which gives it a subtle bouquet and a palate that is more mineral than floral, with an almost imperceptible sparkle. Yet, these qualities have not eased the bitterness of Swiss winegrowers, which has only increased as sales have declined. Wine consumption in Switzerland dropped by 8% in 2024, and by as much as 16% for Swiss wines specifically.

Switzerland has not escaped the global trend. Worldwide wine consumption fell by 3.3% last year, reaching 214 million hectoliters – its lowest level since 1961. According to the Federal Office for Agriculture in Bern, Swiss wine's market share lost nearly four percentage points in a single year, dropping from 38.9% to 35.5%. This trend is expected to continue: As elsewhere in Europe, wine consumption is plummeting, especially among young people.

As a sign of the times, Groupe Schenk, the largest wine producer in Switzerland, sent a letter at the end of June to its suppliers in Vaud and Geneva, announcing that it could not commit to taking on the entire 2025 AOC ("appellation d'origine contrôlée" − Protected Designation of Origin) harvest. "We reserve the right to downgrade part of it to vin de pays [country wine] and table wine, and we offer no guarantees on its value," wrote the group, based in Rolle, in the Vaud region. Although unsold stocks are piling up, Switzerland has not yet discussed the mass uprooting of vines, as is already happening in Bordeaux and the Southwest of France − two regions struggling with overproduction.

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