Experts estimate that there are around 10,000 different grape varieties worldwide, a quarter of which are approved for wine production. A distinction is made between white grape varieties and red grape varieties. While only white wine is made from white wine varieties, red wine varieties can be used to make rosé wine as well as white wine.
In Switzerland, up to 250 different grape varieties are cultivated on an area of around 15,000 hectares. In Valais, the largest wine-growing canton in Switzerland, wine is made from around 60 different grape varieties. Some of these grape varieties have names that are only found in Valais. For example, Chasselas is called Fendant in Valais, Malvoisie is used for the Pinot gris grape and the Valais Johannisberg is known as Silvaner. And of course there are also autochthonous grape varieties in Valais, i.e. indigenous grape varieties that are only grown in Valais. In fact, Valais offers the largest selection of indigenous grape varieties in Switzerland. These include Humagne blanc, Heida, white Petite Arvine, but also the rather unknown Lafetschna and, among the red grape varieties, Cornalin (also known as Rouge du Pays or Landroter) or Humagne rouge.
The two oldest white and red grape varieties in Switzerland can also be admired in Valais. Not far from Salgesch, a Cornalin vine has been growing in front of the “Allet-Haus” in Leuk since 1798. And a little further east, in Steg-Hohtenn in the Berggasse at the “Borri-Haus”, there is a vine of the Humagne blanc grape variety whose age has been scientifically dated to around 1750.
