Wine Hiking Switzerland

"At just the right moment Helvetiq asked me to create a series of Swiss hikes which would give people of all ages a nice day out that would end with a good, hand-crafted glass of wine for the adults. One hike, one wine, one winery. I could interest people who like wine in going to new places and learning new things. Wine is an essential thread in the Swiss cultural fabric, just as hiking is. Slowly, one foot forward and one wine tasted at a time, readers would increase their knowledge about Swiss wine and thus their pleasure in it. The selection for each hike began with the wine and winery so that the book could present wines from several grape varieties, in several styles, from all of the Swiss wine regions. There are six official Swiss wine regions but since one is German-speaking Switzerland, which covers far more territory than the others, I've created sub-sections of East and West based on an arbitrary "center" line but also geographic similarities that affect their wines. Some wineries are large, some just one person, but all are artisanal, focused on making terroir wines. The highest vines in the country are at about 1,110 metres above sea level, in Visperterminen in Valais -- and these are exceptional. Elsewhere, vines rarely grow above 900 metres a.s.l. Once the wine and winery were selected, I began to create the hikes, always starting and ending with public transport and using hiking tails that are part of the well-maintained Swiss trails system for as much of the route as possible. Most are cross-country, some are along the edges of rivers or lakes. A handful take hikers through cities for part of the trail."--