– Two hundred wines to understand La Côte
The Maison des Vins de La Côte, which brings together 81 winegrowers from the appellation, opens its doors this weekend. Some winegrowers were already dreaming of it in 2011.
Published today at 10:04 a.m.
Nathalie Ravet, hostess, and Luc Pellet, president of the Association de la Maison des Vins de La Côte, are opening the temple of the largest Vaud appellation this weekend.
Chantal Dervey
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- The Maison des Vins de La Côte is inaugurated with open doors on October 19 and 20.
- Luc Pellet, who has led the project since 2011, affirms that “the result lives up to the initial ambition”.
- The site offers 206 wines from 81 partner winegrowers to taste or take away.
- Activities including brunches, tasting workshops and vineyard visits are organized.
It was about building a place “neither conventional nor exuberant”, he told us. Luc Pellet, president of the Maison des Vins de La Côte Associationin 2016. Today, we must admit that this Vaudoise-style “neither for nor against” is a beautiful reality. The Maison des Vins de La Côte, built on municipal land and named “Entre Murs” by the Montreux office Archi-DT, has succeeded in its challenge. It is inaugurated this weekend during a public open house*.
Luc Pellet, who has been carrying out the project for more than ten years, is not shying away from his pleasure: “The result lives up to the initial ambition.” And the enthusiasm is palpable. Registrations for the open house are going well. “We hope to be a little overwhelmed,” smiles the winemaker. We can also measure public support for the small nameplates which appear on the beautiful Horgenglarus furniture. “Our crowdfunding worked beyond our expectations (editor’s note: 172% of the 40,000 francs expected)», says Luc Pellet, who is counting on the fact that subscribers will come “to see their chair from time to time”.
Each of the 81 partner winegrowers can rent up to three racks to display their wines. In total, 206 references are available, including more than 50 chasselas.
Chantal Dervey
But the goal is also to bring in passing visitors. “This place must become an obvious choice for an outing, as can Signal-de-Bougy or Château de Prangins,” illustrates the president. And to those who complained, saying that the Maison des Vins, costing 4.5 million, was going to kill the existing cellars, he replied: “That’s stupidity! It will boost the sector, and everyone will benefit. For wine tourism to work, you need enough things to visit. The Maison des Vins is a magical place whose style will also attract a slightly different clientele.”
The “housemistress” Nathalie Ravet abounds. “Women told me that they were looking forward to coming with friends, that it will be easier than in certain cellars.” Arriving this spring in the middle of construction, the sommelier from Vufflens-le-Château is working to expand the catalog of proposals for visitors. Brunches every 2e Sunday of the month in the presence of a winemaker, tasting workshops, theme evenings and, from spring, tours of the Mont-sur-Rolle vineyard by certified wine guides are planned.
Tool for the terroir
But the Maison des Vins is above all a fantastic wine library. In all, there are 206 wines from 81 partner estates and wine growers (out of around 150, depending on the AOC) which are for sale to take away or to taste on site by the glass (selection of ten wines), benefiting from the wise advice from the best Gault&Millau sommelier 2007 and 2015. You will also discover other local products, on boards or to take away.
Because the 450 m² house is a showcase for the twelve production sites of the AOC La Côte (Nyon, Begnins, Luins, Vinzel, Bursinel, Coteau de Vincy, Tartegnin, Mont-sur-Rolle, Féchy, Perroy, Aubonne and Morges), but it is also part of the Regional agricultural development program (PDRA) West Vaudwhich brings together 280 farms in the region.
Open days at the Maison des Vins de La Côte, route du Cœur de La Côte 1, 1185 Mont-sur-Rolle, Saturday-Sunday October 19-20, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Then from Tue to Sun until October 31, and from Wed to Sun from November to March. www.maisondesvins.ch
Other regional showcases
The Maison des Vins de La Côte joins the relatively closed club of wine bars bringing together the winegrowers of a region.
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In the canton of Vaud, we can already get an idea of the variety of wines in Lavaux Vinoramain Rivaz. Opened in 2010, this Lavaux vineyard and wine discovery center offers some 300 wines for tasting on site or for sale. But also guided tours of the registered vineyard on foot, by little train or even by tuk-tuk, and the educational film “A winegrower’s year”.
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On the Neuchâtel side, the Boudry Castle brings together around fifty winegrowers and offers around 200 wines for tasting. Owned by the Compagnie des Vignolants du Vignoble Neuchâtelois since 1957, it houses the first Vine and Wine Museum in Switzerland and was declared an “embassy of the Neuchâtel vineyard” by the Council of State at the end of the 1980s.
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In Sierre, the Villa Castle is the place of all wine superlatives: since the year 2000, you can discover some 780 wines from 120 producers from the largest vineyard in Switzerland. It is also the place to taste rare indigenous grape varieties from Haut-Valais, such as Lafnetscha or Himbertscha.
“Gastronomy & Terroirs”
“24 Heures” has always followed the gastronomic and culinary news of the canton. Receive, every Friday, a selection of articles on catering, cooking, local products and wine.
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