Switzerland’s oldest wine

High in the mountains of Valais you will find the Vin des Glaciers, wine in barrels that are never fully emptied.

Since at least the 18th century, alpine nomads have been filling their larch barrels with each year’s wine, then cellaring it in mountain villages. Also called the sherry of the Alps, today some drops of this golden liquid are over 125 years old.

The wine isn’t sold, rather it’s drunk by the vintners on occasions that warrant it—births, weddings, funerals.

Today, there is only one place where the tradition continues: the small town of Grimetz in the Val d’Anniviers. It’s the same town where residents once aged cheese for their own funeral (more in this Gastro Obscura post: Valley of the Cheese of the Dead).

It’s not readily available, but occasionally a lucky outside few are able to taste the wine. There is a great account on the wine site Jancis Robinson about having the chance to visit the town and taste the wine directly from the barrel.

For more on wine from the Valais, check out my post on Vin du Valais, or my book: Drink like the Swiss.