Valais wine, and the evening belongs to the table
Vines, a village or the thermal baths by day. In the evening a glass from the Valais, once the children are in their room.
In the Valais the vines grow on steep slopes, and in the evening the glass is on your table. The children have their room by then. The day still tastes of a holiday when you stay in.
The Valais is Switzerland’s great wine region. The vines follow the Rhône, often on terraces, often in small estates. More than 50 varieties grow here, many of them almost only in this valley. The climate is dry and sunny, and the sites run from about 500 to 1,100 metres.
A day among the vines
In autumn people stand in the rows, red crates in the path, the leaves already yellow. That is the harvest as it looks: work by hand on the slope. On other days a walk between the vines is enough, short enough that you turn back when the children have had their fill.
Lavaux is the day on the other shore of the holiday: terraces, a path, a lake, mountains behind. Those vineyard terraces are a UNESCO World Heritage site. You make a day of it and you are back in Leukerbad by evening. Varen is the quiet wine village. The sites along the valley are the Valais wine region.
The glass in the evening
Raclette, potatoes, a cucumber, and a glass of rosé. The glass reads Vouilloz, Vin du Valais. Behind it the village and the mountains. That is how a day ends when you stay outside and the children are still awake.
Indoors it is the fireplace, two glasses of red, cheese on the plate. The bottle stands on the mantel. Nobody has to hunt for a table in the village.
At the table there are four place settings and the high chair. Fondue and raclette go on the hob. The children’s room has two beds and a rocking horse. When the door is shut, the evening is yours.
Check-in is from 15:00, check-out by 11:00. The thermal baths are a ten-minute walk, the Gemmi cable car five. You fetch the wine in the valley and you spend the evening here. The other days in the village are on the family pages.