Vineyards near Zurich?

I hope you get a good answer to this but I don't know....

Vineyards are generally best if south or southwest facing.

I certainly don't know all the territory near Zürich but I have been around there a lot, and I can't remember ever seeing any near Zürich . Sorry....

Both Alsace and the Black Forest have plenty, and up to Kaiserstühl have plenty too, and I do know there is a small crop of Swiss wine (that never leaves the country) but I don't know where the vineyards are.

thanks for the response. i guess to be clear when i say near Zurich. i think we have plenty of time to travel a couple hours from Zurich. love your ideas thanks agan

I was going to suggest the Bodensee area. Reichenau Island has vineyards, as well as being a World Heritage Site. It is more or less flat, great for hiking and biking. Mainau is also close by to Reichenau, beautiful gardens.
However, I did come up with this: https://www.zuerich.com/en/visit/nature/lake-zurich-vineyards

I believe the wineries/vineyards in Switzerland are near Lausanne on Lake Geneva. Switzerland has very good wine and very little is exported.

We visited two wine areas in Switzerland this summer from our home base in Bern. One is 1 1/2h from Zurich by train on the north side of Lac Neuchâtel. The other is 2 1/2h from Zurich by train along the north shore of Lac Leman (Geneva) near Vevey. I don’t think the longer 2 1/2h distance would be practical from Zurich. We also took a train from Bern to Bregenz Austria that hugged the south shore of Lac Zürich and I noticed vineyards on the opposite shore just 1/2h from Zurich. Google wineries on google maps for your area and several show up. From Lake Constance (Bodensee) there’s the lovely Meersburg wine area that we visited. It’s 2h by Flixbus or 2 1/2h by train. We had many lovely wines that we’ll never see in our home area.

Zurich does produce wine, but its vineyards are not as touristically developed as the ones near Lausanne. Zurich's wine region is called "wine country" or Zürcher Weinland: https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/zuercher-weinland.html . Hallau (Kanton Schaffhausen) is another well known wine and wine region in Switzerland or a bit further away you have the "Bündner Herrschaft", around Maienfeld (Heidiland), which also features vineyards and great wine.

We just returned from a trip that included 2 days in Murten/Morat. We drove from Zurich, but it appears to be about 1hr 45 - 2hr train trip. We spent one day walking around the lake which has vineyards on the other side. It was beautiful being able to walk thru the vineyards and then taste the wine. Praz-Vully had many places for wine. We really enjoyed Murten itself as it has a lovely walled Old Town area and a nice lake front.

Hi Lisa, I hope I'm not too late with my answer to your enquiry.
My suggestion would be to take a train from Zurich, via Winterthur, to the very pretty wine growing village of Unterstammheim, which is in the centre of the area known as the Zurcher Weinland. The journey should only take about 40 minutes each way and once you arrive at the station in Stammheim, you can meander through the very pretty village, full of timbered houses, to the vine slopes just behind, where there are plenty of pathways to wander at leisure - the views over the rooftops across the village are gorgeous. In the small village square you will find the local supermarket, the Volg, (found in most villages and selling locally produced food and wine) where you will be able to pick up a bottle of local wine, or alternatively, try one of the restaurants in the village. Our favourite is just opposite the Volg and is called the Adler (the Eagle). Thomas, the chef/patron cooks traditional dishes using local ingredients and serves wine made from the vines growing on the slopes just above the village - and most importantly, he speaks excellent English! The wines made by his friend and neighbour Ruedi Frei are always very good but Thomas will be more than happy to recommend some wine to accompany your meal.
To my mind, this would be the ideal way to end your trip and it isn't too far to travel for an afternoon, so it would provide a soothing break from the hustle and bustle of Zurich. The whole area here is totally unspoilt and is to my mind delightful..but then I have been living here, just 10 minutes away from the village I have described, for 5 years, so I may be biased!
Hope this helps and if you need any more information I am more than happy for you to contact me again! SueH

thanks everyone for the amazing information! Sue, my husbands meetings will be over around lunch so I think your idea will fit perfectly in our schedule. Do you have any recommendations on where to spend the night? we are also considering going to appenzell since we have a little more free time and it appears to be only 2 hours by train and i would love to go to the cheese factory. Since you live in the area do you know when the cow parades take place.

Hi...late again in my reply - sorry for that!
I have checked and the majority of the Alpabzugs (the cows' descent from the alpine pastures) in Appenzell take place on Saturday 15th September, so this Saturday! I'm not sure if you are asking me where you could stay in my area or in Appenzell? Appenzell is about an hour's drive from here, but there are plenty of hotels there and there is a very good tourist information centre in the town of Appenzell itself, where they can will a recommendation or even make the booking for you. If you want a personal recommendation please let me know!
In terms of my area, there are a couple of B&Bs and I am happy to send you further details if you need them. Hope that helps Lisa and please let me know If I can be of any further help.....the most important thing is that you and your husband get the most out of your Swiss visit!! And I don't work for swiss tourism by the way!!