Valais wine regions, a valley of sites
Along the Rhône the sites change. You look at them for a day and you drink at home in the evening.
Updated 27 October 2026
The Valais is the heart of Swiss wine. The vines run through the Rhône valley, often as terraces, often in the hands of small estates. Each site tastes of sun, soil and place. From Leukerbad it is a day in the valley, and the evening stays in the apartment.
What the sites share
Dry and sunny, a big range of altitude, steep terraces and dry-stone walls. Many varieties grow almost only here. Wine belongs to ordinary days in the valley.
A path through the rows shows how close the vines and the view sit. You walk a stretch and you turn back. Lavaux, by the lake, is a day of its own. Varen, the quiet village above the valley, is another.
Sometimes the table is already among the vines: glasses, a bottle, a plate, the slope behind. That is a stop on an outing. With children the same wine often waits until the evening, when everyone is back in Leukerbad.
Varieties that belong to the valley
Pale grapes, dark green leaves: these become the white wines that stay easy in the evening. Fendant, Petite Arvine, Heida. The reds are Cornalin, Humagne Rouge, Pinot Noir.
In Alpine Siesta the glasses stand by the fireplace, the cheese is on the plate, the children are in the room next door. Check-in is from 15:00. The thermal baths are a ten-minute walk when the day among the vines ran long.