The 30th Wineries Open Day will be held in Geneva from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, 20 May – the perfect opportunity to meet and talk to producers and sample their wines in a friendly and enjoyable atmosphere.
Discovering a superb vintage
This event, now an unmissable date on the canton’s calendar, was launched in Geneva in 1987 by the independent wine growers and wineries who were pioneers in Switzerland. The idea was to invite the population to come and meet them by visiting their wineries and vineyards.
This coming 20 May, almost all of the canton’s 90 or so wineries will be opening their doors to the local population and visitors from further afield to present their new 2016 wines, shaping up to be a highly promising vintage, along with the cask-matured wines of the 2015 vintage.
Geneva, Switzerland’s third largest wine-growing canton, is particularly blessed geographically with its three specific regions. Traditionally, the Mandement is the most often visited area, but keen followers of the Open Day increasingly frequent the "Entre Arve et Rhône" (Lully, Bernex, Soral, etc.) and "Arve et Lac" (Jussy, Anières, Gy, etc.) regions.
This Open Day also provides an ideal opportunity for a magnificent ramble through Geneva’s countryside, strolling from village to village and (re)discovering these three regions, each with its own special charm.
30,000 corkscrews given away to mark this 30th anniversary
When purchasing the traditional sample glass served on the Open Day (price: 10 francs), each participant will receive a magnificent Murano corkscrew (while stocks last), a gift from the canton’s wine growers to thank visitors for their loyalty.
Open Day travel by bus and train
To make it easier to move around the Geneva countryside, the Open Day organisers have been working closely with TPG (Geneva Public Transport) and a free shuttle service will provide an easy way to travel between the villages (www.tpg.ch) while the CFF Swiss Railways will be running extra trains on the Geneva-La Plaine line (up to 4 services an hour at the end of the day). Transport of bikes not recommended. For more information, go to www.cff.ch/geneve.