Hello,
I will be with a group of 6 in Lausanne on Sunday, September 8th, and we would like to explore the Swiss Wine Trail. Do you need to make winery appointments in advance? Do you have any advice on a website that shows which wineries are open on a Sunday? Any advice on good itineraries for the day or starting/stopping points? We are a pretty active group so would like to walk part of the trail if possible!
Thanks!
We recently spent a couple of days in the Valais wine region (I believe you'll be in the Vaud), and I believe there was a web site that gave you that kind of info, so I suspect there is something like that covering where you'll be. I'd check the Lausuanne tourist office web site first.
As for appointments, from looking at the web sites for several wineries before our trip, it seemed like most required it, but when I asked the woman who we rented a place from, she said that's not the case. And she was in the wine business for many years and still knows a lot of the local winemakers.
And Swiss wine is VERY good! It’s a shame that it’s not exported.
Stop in at the Lausanne Tourist Office. They were very helpful for us, although we were there in October and the vineyards had been harvested and none of them featured tastings. You should have better luck with that in September! The Tourist Office can lay out a plan for you and advise you on options.
My husband and I enjoyed the Lavaux Vinorama last summer. http://www.lavaux-vinorama.ch They gave us a starting overview of the different types of grapes, history, etc...
We had difficulty finding wineries that were open in mid August. We enjoyed these in Epesses: Marina Bovard, Blaise Duboux, Patrick Fonjallaz, Clos de la Republique, Les 11 Terres (is a wine bar). We did not have a car, so relied on the bus, train, ferry and walking the area for 5 days. Enjoy it's a wonderful place.
