Visionary Vintner
Among Swiss winemakers, there are few names that command more respect than that of the Mathier family. Diego Mathier looks the part. His face is round, his smile contented, his cheeks chubby – and his belly is proudly corpulent. “Nature has been kind to me,” smiles the gourmet, “because you can’t tell that I’m a man who knows how to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. The 42-year-old from Salgesch in Valais is known for his fine palate and his expertise in wine and is the reigning winemaker of Switzerland. For the second time in his 12-year career, the entrepreneur was named Swiss Winemaker of the Year last fall, having won the prestigious title for the first time in 2007.
Growing up as a Mathier
Tradition and innovation are the cornerstones of the family business. The Mathiers, originally from France, have been closely linked to the sun-drenched slopes of Salgesch for 600 years. They initially farmed the land as arable farmers and cattle breeders and only specialized in viticulture a century ago. “My grandfather Ferdinand was a wine inspector and used his insider knowledge to acquire prime wine-growing land with preferred soils and microclimates,” explains Mathier. Once the foundations were laid, each generation developed the business with progressive thinking and its own dose of innovation. “My parents, for example, built a new – and quite visionary – wine cellar and made their products available to the end consumer,” Mathier recalls proudly. For the Mathier children, the winery was “like a big sister” during their childhood. “She’ was always a topic at the dinner table, and even when we were little, my brothers and I were involved in all the decisions.” Today, people often react with disbelief when the winegrower talks about events that happened almost thirty years ago – “like in 1983, when the hail destroyed the entire harvest!” Mathier immediately provides an example.
The fourth generation of Mathier winegrowers lives and breathes viticulture and has supplemented its knowledge with a great deal of practical training. “The rule was that you got paid if you worked,” says the entrepreneur. “And there was always enough work.”
Spilling the grapes
Although he was passionate about his ancestor’s profession, Mathier did not join the family business immediately after leaving school, but decided to study at the University of St. Gallen to gain “a backpack of skills and experience”. A degree in the subjects he “missed the most”, namely economics and finance, opened the door to a career in recovery management at UBS in Basel, Zurich and Bern. Soon afterwards, the young man was offered a lucrative job in New York. At this point, Mathier’s father intervened and offered his son a position in the family business – as manager for German-speaking Switzerland. Back in Salgesch, the St. Gallen “rucksack” proved useful. “My experiences have confirmed my conviction that less can be more – especially in viticulture. If you leave fewer grapes on the vines, success is guaranteed. If you leave more, you can achieve a higher yield, but you are at the mercy of the weather,” he explains. “That’s the reason why good winegrowers stand out from others in bad years. If you do everything right, the weather is more or less irrelevant – unless it’s extreme, of course. Building on the family tradition and using his own experience and ideas, Mathier took over the management of Adrian & Diego Mathier & Co – Nouveau Salquenen AG in 2000.
A nose for winemaking
Two Winemaker of the Year awards (2007, 2011), a Valais Entrepreneur of the Year award (2011) and more than 400 gold medals for wine later, the entrepreneur reflects on the secret of his success: “It’s a big task to follow in the footsteps of successful parents,” he argues. “The pressure to live up to their legacy was certainly a driving force, and I was blessed with an incredible wife and team who shared my passion for innovation and perfection.” In twelve years, Mathier has added a staggering ten new creations to the family repertoire of outstanding white, red, rosé, sparkling and sweet wines (to name but a few!) – such as his award-winning “sweet solitaire” GEMMA, which is stored inside the Rhône glacier.
Even though he believes that winemaking is a science – the interpretation of what happens in the vineyard – he also sees it as an art: “For me, every wine starts with an idea of how to achieve the ultimate pleasure. Like a work of art, each creation is unique and has its own personality. My own wine, for example, the Syrah Diego Mathier AOCV, tastes exactly like I look – it has broad shoulders, a beautiful body and a long finish!” Mathier laughs heartily. When it comes to taste, Mathier is his own biggest critic. Even after his great successes, he claims that he has not yet found perfection. “You have one chance every year – so maybe I still have 20 to 25 chances,” he says matter-of-factly. Does he hope that one day one of his five daughters will carry on the family tradition? “Definitely,” he replies, “but there’s no pressure. They’re still young and have to go out into the world first – and I’m not finished yet!”
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