Last year’s grape harvest in Switzerland produced nearly 84 million litres of wine, down 13% on the 10-year average and the lowest volume in 10 years.
Cold weather in Spring damaged the grape buds as they flowered, but a hot dry summer ensured rich flavour and sugar, two features that should ensure an exceptional vintage.
The 83.4 million litre harvest was 14.8% lower than in 2019. Swiss grapes budding in Switzerland occurs between the end of May and early June. And last year that is when there was a cold snap. The worst hit vineyards were those in Graubunden.
The long hot dry summer that followed accelerated the maturity of the grapes. This improved grape quality but reduced their size, reducing the amount of wine. It also required earlier harvesting.
Production difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic also had an impact on the final volume of Swiss wine produced.
In 2020, Swiss vineyards covered 14,696 hectares, 8 hectares less than in 2019.
The most important grape varieties in Switzerland are Pinot Noir (28%), Chasselas (26%), Gamey (9%) and Merlot (8%) – together these varieties cover 70% of total vineyard area.
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