Graubünden

Though it may be small, the Canton of Graubünden is home to over 60 different wine specialities, which are produced year after year by extremely small-scale vineyards.

Over the past 50 years, the wine-growing area in this canton has steadily grown: from 200 hectares in 1970 to 423 hectares in 2019. Three quarters of the cultivated area is now planted with red varieties, above all Blauburgunder, which is the leading grape variety in Graubünden, covering 300 hectares.

The area around Maienfeld, Malans and Jenins is considered the heart of Graubünden viticulture: with 290 hectares, two thirds of the total wine-growing area is located in these three villages. But not every winemaker in the canton presses their own grapes. Only around 60 per cent produce wine in their own cellars; all others deliver their harvest to a production company as contract winegrowers. Those who produce in the Bündner Herrschaft, as this wine-growing region in Switzerland is often called, mainly press single-variety wines. Year after year, local winemakers vinify more than 60 different wine specialities from over 42 grape varieties.