Fendant

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Fendant
Synonyms Chasselas (French speakers), Gutedel (German speakers)
Fendant
Art Grape vine ( Vitis vinifera subsp. Vinifera )
Berry color yellow-green
use
origin Lake Geneva region , Swiss canton of Valais
known since oldest surviving documents from the 12th century
VIVC no. 2473
List of grape varieties

The Fendant [fãˈdãː] is next to the Dôle the most famous Swiss wine. It is a dry and soft AOC -certified white wine, which is cultivated exclusively in the Swiss canton of Valais and which comes exclusively from the grape variety that is known by German speakers as Gutedel and by French speakers as Chasselas. Fendant is considered a traditional grape variety in Valais, which is reserved for the designation Walliser Grand Cru . Any addition is forbidden. The Fendant is usually drunk young, about one to three years after its production.

origin

In today's Switzerland, the Gutedelrebe has been mentioned in monastic documents as "Fendant" since the 12th century, while the names "Gutedel" and "Chasselas" can be traced back to the years 1621 and 1654. By the beginning of the 16th century at the latest, the Fendant must have made its way from the Lake Geneva region , the origin of the Chasselas, further up into the Valais, because monastic documents in the canton of Valais can be used to trace its cultivation to the 16th century. The relationship between the two terms "Fendant" and "Chasselas" was not established until 1715.

After the Sonderbund War in 1847, the Fendrebe became active by the Canton of Valais from 1848 onwards. a. promoted by the commercial development of the first Valais wineries, because it is easy to grow and because their table grapes taste pleasantly sweet and are easy to transport. Since then, the Fendant has been grown on a large scale in the canton of Valais, so that it has become the second most important Swiss variety after the Pinot noir and the Dôle.

Surname

The name «Fendant» is derived from the French word for splitting so fendre ( la fente , the column), as the ripe grape berries can be split into the skin and pulp with light finger pressure without the fruit juice running out.

Since 1966, the name "Fendant" has only been allowed to be used as a protected designation of origin for wines that come from the canton of Valais .

Wine region

Fendant is cultivated in the entire wine-growing region of the canton of Valais, where it makes up around 30 percent of the entire vines in Switzerland's largest wine region. On average, 13.2 million kilos of Fendant grapes are harvested annually in the canton of Valais, which corresponds to a production of 10.6 million liters of wine. The most important growing areas are Chamoson , Saillon and Martinach in Lower Valais, Sion and Sierre in Central Valais and Salgesch in Upper Valais.

Vinification

Based on the ripening control of the Fendant grapes, the oenologists determine the harvest date plot by plot. Immediately after harvesting, the grapes are pressed. The pressing takes place in a gentle way by means of pneumatic pressing. The must is then pre-clarified by flotation in order to remove the turbid matter by buoyancy. This is followed by a short fermentation with selected yeasts at a controlled temperature of 20 ° C. The cuvées preserved on fresh wine yeast are stabilized in order to prevent any malolactic fermentation . In order to preserve the natural carbon dioxide, the fermentation tank is in a cooled room. During this time, the wine is neither racked nor filtered. Finally, the wine is clarified a few days before the bottle is drawn off by tangential ceramic filtration.

properties

The Fendant is very responsive to the terroir in connection with the soil, exposure and microclimate and reflects this with subtle nuances. That is why it tastes particularly of mineral notes in Lower Valais, such as in Ardon or Vétroz . In Central Valais, as in Sion and Saint-Léonard, it pleases itself with fullness and opulence, in Sierre it presents itself with a fine, invigorating and beneficial bitterness. In the Upper Valais Visperterminen on the highest vineyard north of the main Alpine ridge, it is particularly characterized by flowery and smooth fruit nuances.

The Valais law stipulates a minimum Oechsle degree of 70.6 ° Oe and yield limits per unit area of ​​1.4 kg per m 2 or 1.12 l per m 2 (must) for the Fendant Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée or AOC du Valais before, for the Fendant Grand Cru or GC du Valais of 78 ° Oe and 1.1 kg per m 2 or 0.88 l per m 2 (must). An alcohol content of 11 to 12.5 percent is common.

Tasting

Up to three years after production, the Fendant displays its youthful, lively and cheerful character as well as its smooth and rounded taste notes with a fresh, tingling approach and aromas in which fruit and flowers often play together. The big vintages show aromas of honey, nuts and a smooth texture after five or ten years of storage, which give them an unexpected and extraordinary complexity.

Serve

The Fendant is valued as an aperitif wine and goes well with dishes such as baked or grilled fish and with cheese such as fondue and raclette as well as other Valais specialties such as the Walliser platter .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Articles 32, 49 and 88 of the Ordinance on Viticulture and Wine (916.142), Sion March 17, 2004.
  2. ↑ Chasselas on weinlandschweiz.ch.
  3. ↑ The Chasselas is a Vaudois , La Newsletter des Experts du Vin - Courrier du vin, No. 4 September - October 2010.
  4. ↑ Gutedel on weinhalle.de , accessed on December 21, 2017.
  5. ↑ Chasselas, Fendant (Wallis) / Gutedel on schweizerweinecke.ch, accessed on December 21, 2017.
  6. ↑ Fendant, the landmark of a country and an era on museeduvin-valais.ch, accessed on December 21, 2017.
  7. ↑ Fendant on Lebensmittellexikon.de , accessed on December 21, 2017.
  8. ↑ Fendant, the landmark of a country and an era on museeduvin-valais.ch, accessed on December 21, 2017.
  9. ↑ Candra Kurt, wine writer and author, Fendant - Der Walliser Chasselas on chandrakurt.com, accessed on December 23, 2017.
  10. ↑ The Valais Fendant on fendant.ch , accessed on December 23, 2017.
  11. ↑ Fendant - the Chasselas in Valais on weinlandschweiz.ch.
  12. ↑ Articles 41, 43, 90 and 91 of the Ordinance on Viticulture and Wine (916.142), Sion March 17, 2004.
  13. ↑ Fendant - the Chasselas in Valais on weinlandschweiz.ch.
  14. ↑ Fendant on Lebensmittellexikon.de , accessed on December 23, 2017.
  15. ↑ Fendant - the Chasselas in Valais on weinlandschweiz.ch.
  16. ↑ Wine and food on fendant.ch , accessed on December 23, 2017.