The Region
The Valais is more than Switzerland's largest wine region. It is where Swiss wine is at its most distinctive. Over 5,000 hectares of terraced vineyards line the upper Rhône valley between Martigny and Leuk, in one of the driest spots in the country: just 600mm of rainfall per year and over 2,000 hours of sunshine. The medieval bisses (irrigation channels carved into mountainsides) that keep these vines alive are an engineering marvel in their own right.
What Makes Valais Wine Special
This is the home of Switzerland's indigenous grape aristocracy. Petite Arvine produces crisp, saline whites with grapefruit and bitter almond notes, a grape that grows virtually nowhere else. Cornalin yields deep, wild-berry reds that only thrive in the Valais heat. Humagne Rouge is rustic and tannic, Amigne swings from sweet to dry, and at Visperterminen (1,150 meters) the Heida grape ripens at the highest vineyards in Europe. You won't find these wines outside Switzerland. 98% of Swiss wine is consumed domestically.
Key Wine Villages
Salgesch is the red wine heartland, with over 40 producers in one village. Sion (the cantonal capital) anchors the central valley. Fully and Chamoson are known for Petite Arvine and Johannisberg. Sierre sits at the language border. Visperterminen, at 1,150 meters, produces Europe's highest-altitude wines.
The Valais Wine Trail
The Chemin du Vignoble stretches 65 kilometers from Martigny to Leuk through the heart of the vineyard landscape. Allow 4 days for the full walk, or pick the Salgesch–Sierre section for the densest concentration of cellar-door tastings in a single day.
Open Wine Cellars 2026
May 14–16 (Ascension weekend). Around 230 wineries open their doors for the 20th anniversary edition, the biggest Valais wine event of the year.
