A Matter of Taste

‘’I spent my early working life in the consumer electronics industry, initially in technical roles, but later moving into management, with experience in Europe, mainly Switzerland, and India,” says Wokingham-based Nick Dobson.

And it was the ‘’mainly Switzerland” bit that led him to discover Swiss wines. In 2002, Dobson left the corporate world because, he says, ‘’I had a long-held desire to combine my passion for wine with the independence of running my own business.”

I first met Dobson in 2005 when I interviewed him for a magazine I am the editor of. Now called Terrific Terroir because it features all Geneva products including wines, back then it was devoted exclusively to wine, as reflected in the title Geneva Wines. You can read the interview here; click on English version, then Press, then Geneva Wines, Winter/Spring 2005 issue. The interview is on pp. 2-4.

Dobson was certainly a pioneer, importing first Geneva wines and then adding on other Swiss regions to sell via a UK-based Internet business, so I decided to catch up with him and see how his business is faring.

Gail Mangold-Vine: You were up and running in business in April 2003 - seven years ago. Can you tell me about developments since? Is the concept of a web-and-special-event based UK wine business profiling Swiss, Austrian and other niche wines turning out as you thought? Because of your high degree of specialization, particularly as Swiss and Austrian wines go, are you also drawing web clients from elsewhere in the world?

Nick Dobson: Is it really seven years? A lot has happened since then. We were up and running in early 2003 but we didn’t start selling Swiss wine until about a year later, and then it was only Geneva wines to start with. Since then we have broadened the Swiss range quite considerably, and added new ranges such as Austria, Portugal, Alto Adige in Italy, and Hungary.

Is it turning out as I thought? Yes, I suppose it is. The business has seen steady growth since the launch, and has now reached “critical mass” - and although the last 12 months have been a bit tricky, we have still posted a modest growth in turnover in 2009. We started with nothing, and we now have a viable business which suits our lifestyle well. I’ve sold Swiss wines to small numbers of customers outside the UK - in the USA, Canada, France, Ireland, and…. Switzerland!

Gail Mangold-Vine: What are client trends as regards wine preferences and prices?  Do you feel that over the past seven years you’ve ”educated” the palates and tastes of a certain group of clients, can you see discernible growth in awareness and expertise as regards your wines on the part of consumers? How about the trade and restaurants? Do you see certain changes of focus or new areas of growth as a result?

Nick Dobson: I don’t think there are any fundamental shifts or trends in what people drink - at least not with what I sell. Their habits are pretty much the same now as when I started. It’s true there has been some movement down the price spectrum - but I see this as a temporary effect of the recession, and at the top and bottom ends of the price spectrum, demand remains robust. It’s in the middle (the £12-£18 bracket) where things are currently more challenging and where people have been moving down-market.

I’ve never really set out to educate the market - that requires rather more resources than I have. My goal was to create a viable business doing something I enjoyed - but in doing so I have introduced quite a lot of people to Swiss and Austrian wines, and quite a few expats living in the UK have discovered me.

Awareness in the UK of Swiss wines in particular is still extremely low, evidenced by the fact that most people buy ready-made mixed cases [from my business] as they don’t have the confidence to choose wines themselves. There are a few who know a fair bit, but their numbers are very limited. Austria on the other hand is a bit better known - there are more importers, and their well-funded wine marketing board creates something of a “stage presence” for Austrian wines in the UK that Switzerland doesn’t have.

My business doesn’t target the restaurant market - although I do have a couple of customers. I’m in the process of starting another business which is more trade-focused - ask me about that in a year.

Gail Mangold-Vine: So the economic downturn affected your business?

Nick Dobson: Well, I’ve alluded to that already in earlier answers - to put it in a nutshell it certainly has. We’ve seen growth fall from 40-50% pa to under 10% last year - but at least it’s still growth, which many wine merchants have not seen at all. The outlook for 2010 and beyond is unclear at the moment, and even though we’re seeing signs that the recession may be over, we’re certainly not out of the woods yet.

The big problem looking forward is the dramatic shift in exchange rates which will cause retail prices to rise by 30% or so in an already weakened market. We’ve been insulated from this to some extent by older stocks working their way through the system, but as they run out, and as new stocks take their place, we’ll see the full effects of this.

There are also political issues in the UK driving taxation and regulation ever-upwards and the combined effects of these mean that we may be moving to a completely new situation in the UK with alcohol prices substantially higher than has historically been the case - more like the Scandinavian model. This would mean a period of adjustment for both consumers and the industry.

Gail Mangold-Vine: You say that you are indisputably the Swiss wine specialist in UK, talk us through that.

Nick Dobson: Swiss wines have to play to their strengths in export markets - the high domestic cost base and strong currency mean that Switzerland is never going to be able to compete on international markets with new world look-alike products, but it can succeed with wines that are different and well-priced.

The best pricing in Switzerland is from Geneva and some parts of Vaud - Chasselas from these parts can remain reasonably priced in the UK and compares well in terms of quality with wines from New Zealand, Australia, and other European countries. The market is small but in some ways that is a strength for me - it’s big enough to keep a small operator like me in business, but too small to interest the bigger players.

There are very few importers of Swiss wine in the UK - and most of those have quite limited ranges, normally just from one or two producers and few have more than a dozen or so wines. They don’t all have a retail presence, and offer limited information on their websites, if they have one. My offering has wines from some 15 producers, and covers most of the wine-growing districts in Switzerland with more than 100 wines. I have gone to great lengths to make sure the offering includes most of the more obscure indigenous Swiss grape varieties, and some wines with stories - like high altitude wines from Visperterminen [Valais].

* * *

Dobson’s wine selections in general are extremely well-informed, and his website  is much appreciated for its good reads, resources and tasting notes - so it’s not surprising that, in 2009, Nick Dobson Wines was short-listed for the ‘Online Merchant of the Year’ category in the Decanter Retailer of the Year Awards.

Nick Dobson (left) with Swiss winemaker Gregor Kuonen in Valais. Visual courtesy of Nitin Shankar (copyright).

This week I went to a master class where we spent three hours learning how to make ravioli and then another couple of hours sampling the results. The course - ”Ravioli and the Art of Surprise” - was held at the Richemond Hotel in Geneva and the chef teaching it was Fulvio Pierangelini, variously Michelin-starred, named Italy’s Best Chef, a regular on world Best Chef listings… and newly appointed consultant chef to the Rocco Forte hotel group which owns the Richemond.

That means that Pierangelini flies around the world working with the executive chefs at some ten Rocco Forte hotels which like the Richemond have Italian restaurants, imprinting his special style on the menus and the cooking.

When the Forte group took (and made) over the five-star Richemond they named their restaurant Sapori, which means tastes, flavors, in Italian - but ”too many people thought it sounded Japanese and would show up for sushi,” says Pierangelini. So the restaurant has been re-baptized Le Jardin, which is what it was called under the previous hotel owners, however the food served there now is resolutely and deliciously Italian.

The master class begins

Nine foodies, one third of them men, showed up at the appointed hour, 5 p.m. on a Monday, for a full immersion experience on how to make ravioli pasta and different types of fillings, various ways of cutting or shaping ravioli - and then enjoying a several-course, ravioli-based meal that was anything but repetitive or boring and included a ravioli dessert yet didn’t make you feel stuffed.

Fulvio Pierangelini was there to meet and greet, instantly recognizable from media photos because of his glasses, tousled brown hair, and trademark navy and white striped apron. Roman-born, the 57-year-old self-taught chef has a degree in political science and did some graduate work at the Hautes Etudes Internationales (HEI) so he is no stranger to Geneva.

While I can see why Pierangelini has a reputation for being temperamental - anything food related has to be just so when he’s around, and you’ll hear from him if it isn’t - what marked him more as he chatted in French, English and Italian with participants before class was a great generous love, appetite, curiosity he seems to bring to life in general, a liking for people, and a terrific sense of humor. He has an earthy (although by no means Ramsay-esque) way with language, and wore items of clothing - a blue and white striped shirt with cufflinks, elegant brown suede tassel moccasins - that a banker would wear, except he wore them in his own casual way, with his shirt tails out over his jeans.

The class was held in a bouquet-decked conference room where mobile kitchen units and an Imperia Restaurant electric pasta machine had been set up. After donning stylish brown aprons with the hotel logo on them, we took our places around a table equipped with pads and pencils and settled down for the maestro’s intro.

About ravioli

A great part of the appeal of a raviolo (that’s un raviolo, due ravioli), Pierangelini says, is that it contains something inside that we can’t see. A mystery, or surprise, element. But there isn’t anything inherently ”Italian” about ravioli - small stuffed pouches or parcels are known in all world cuisines.

The Italian part  comes in here: Italian cooking has its roots in country cooking, with different regional accents. ”It’s spontaneous cookery. People used what they had to hand.” And they had flour, eggs, ricotta (inexpensive whey cheese); fillings could be drummed up from virtually anything, gathered items like borage or other herbs, some wild asparagus perhaps, even nettles.

Absolutely essential for fine ravioli, Pierangelini says, is making the right kind of pasta, using (to produce a kilo of dough) 800 grams of flour, 200 grams of semolina, whole eggs and egg yellow. He could not be more specific than that because ingredients are never entirely the same - the flour might be very dry, or not; eggs are different sizes, so you might need more or less whole ones, or yolks. This is a basic recipe; there are obviously others.

Number 1 in the Pierangelini cooking credo: Pay attention to your ingredients. Select them with the utmost care. Get to know them. Treat them with respect and love. And part of that is using as little machinery with them as possible. Ravioli dough MUST be mixed and kneaded by hand.

A sticky business, that, and it’s not nearly as easy as it looks to knead the dough into a beautiful even dome, in fact no class participant managed it. All our efforts had to be reworked by Pierangelini himself, Roberto Benvegnù, the Richemond’s executive chef, or their two Italian assistants.

We made two other kinds of dough, one with squid ink to create black pasta, and one with cornmeal to give a polenta-y feel to it. For the black pasta, it was okay to wear rubber gloves but otherwise it was bare hands.

The pasta machine

Next came cutting off a slice of dough and inserting it into the Imperia Restaurant electric pasta machine. ”The first few runs, keep folding the dough in half when you do this,” says Pierangelini. Over and over, the same piece goes through the rollers, becoming thinner and thinner and more elongated while retaining a lovely even width.

Again, course participants turn out to be quite klutzy at this by comparison to the pros, getting misshapen, wrinkled and even holey results.

Pierangelini keeps insisting on putting full heart and attention into everything we do, and gentleness, making his point at one stage by doing an amusing impression of a certain British TV chef wringing the water out of some ingredient by squeezing it the way you would a washcloth - an act of violence, as far as Pierangelini is concerned.

A profile about Pierangelini I once read in the German Süddeutsche Zeitung came back to me. It was entitled ”Der Kartoffelflüsterer” (The Potato Whisperer) and I could see now just why this was such a great title: it is a perfect description of Pierangelini’s relationship to food.

Fillings, cutting and folding

Moving on to some fillings. For time reasons it wasn’t possible to prepare our own spinach, mascarpone, ricotta, parmesan and oil mix, or boil potatoes (”in their jackets, always”) then peel and grate them for the mash filling that would go into the polenta pasta. But we did learn how to make a tomato filling from tomatoes that had been oven-dried with basil and thyme, and an artichoke filling sauteed in olive oil that included the stems, well peeled down to the tender central part - ”the stems have more complex tastes than the hearts.”

There were also some sweetened, cooked, julienned red peppers in oil on hand which we filled into squares of paper-thin filo pastry: this artisanally made filo meant for baklava and beurek was the only store-bought ingredient anywhere in evidence.

Next step: cutting and filling the rest of the ravioli. There were different ways of doing this. You could cut squares, and then either put a spoonful of filling on the middle of each, or use a pastry (piping) bag to put the filling on. You then folded over the square, pressed the dough down around the filling to make sure to get all the air out - absolutely primordial, says Pierangelini - and then used a roulette to trim away excess dough and get a half-moon shape with that typical ravioli edge.

But there are infinite possibilities, Pierangelini explains: one is taking a small round form and quite simply cutting the filled dough out with it, so that you have ravioli that look like little hats. After we’d filled the squid ink pasta with artichoke filling, we shaped them like that. You could also place filling at intervals on a really long strip of dough, place another strip on top of that, then do the necessary patting and roulette cutting.

This went well enough, although trying out some variations - different tortelloni folds and creating fagotini (parcels) - proved to require much more nimble-fingered practice than any of us course participants possessed. We would have been better suited to making trece or caramelle, which can be much coarser - they resemble candy wrappers, something in the middle and then no-nonsense twists to either side.

Good to remember: whether it’s agnolotti, tortelli, tortellini (smaller tortelloni), cappelletti, mezzelune, perle, perline - and the list goes on - here’s the thing: if it’s stuffed, no matter what the name, it’s ravioli, even if we mostly only associate square or rectangular stuffed pasta with serrated edges with that name.

Aperitivo

All the above took some three hours. It was not possible to make the whole quantity of pasta we needed for dinner in that time, so as we turned to hors d’oeuvre and prosecco, Roberto and team got down to some serious ravioli-making.

An unabashed plate of mortadella and bread, and ricotta with olive oil and honey drizzled over it that we helped ourselves to with forks (this was actually a very beautiful dish to look at because of the contrast of the amber honey with the light green of the olive oil Pierangelini has made especially for him) exemplified the Number 2 Pierangelini cooking rule magnificently well: keep it simple. No need for fancy recipes or luxurious ingredients - and remember Rule 1:  just the very best, selected with care, and ”whispered to” so it tastes like a million dollars.

A tavola

Eating our handiwork turned out to be another whole class in itself. We had dinner in the restaurant, joined by the Richemond’s genial food and beverage director Leonardo Temperini whose brainchild the master classes are. Pierangelini was half there, half not there when he was supervising kitchen activity.

The only ravioli that were served as a pasta dish were the spinach-filled half-moons that came laid out flat on the plate drizzled with melted butter and delicately sprinkled with parmesan. For the first time ever, I was aware of, and could appreciate, just how important it is to get the type and thickness of pasta just right in relation to the amount of filling, and to select pasta types and fillings that enhance each other. From this perspective the very thought of a can of meat-filled, soggy-pasta ”ravioli” drowned in ghastly tomato sauce - after all, what ravioli still evoke for many, still today - was in culinary terms at least a galloping obscenity.

As for the other dishes, they had one raviolo, repeat a raviolo, per person, that was used as decoration and contrast/accent to: (A) langoustine (raviolo filled with the dried tomato and herb mix); (B) turbot (hat-shaped black raviolo filled with artichoke); and (C) salt cod puree (the polenta-y potato filled raviolo).  Very fine purees are one of Pierangelini’s signature items; his chickpea puree was one of the things that initially made him famous. Well, here it was puree of salt cod that was so good it had little unconscious ”uuuums” coming out of everybody around the table.

And finally: several oven baked filo ravioli with the sweet red pepper filling were served as dessert.

Yes, a perception changer

The subtlety of the contrasts and textures in Pierangelini’s cooking are among the most unusual and refined I have ever tasted. Onion and garlicky tastes are avoided, and it is not the sort of food that you want to grind pepper or salt over: it has a kind of built-in perfect balance that make such things seem too blatant, too grainy and coarse. It’s the sort of food where you just want to lick the plate clean, help yourself to one of those black squid ink rolls that are a Pierangelini specialty and mop up every last bit of sauce - because while the artistic play with colors and arrangement makes the dishes beautiful to look at, this food is not pretentious or precious. It feels familiar, wholesome, satisfying. The ingredients are mostly very humble.

Pierangelini sticks close to tradition, using only very few ingredients that aren’t traditionally used in Italian cooking (he likes to use scallops, for example), and yet his interpretation - in cooking, in presenting, and in menu composition - is completely new and different.

There’s one possibly apocryphal story about Pierangelini, included in many articles written about him, to the effect that he once told a client at the Gambero Rosso (Red Shrimp), the Michelin-starred restaurant he ran in San Vincenzo (Italy) for many years, that her child, for whom she had ordered spaghetti with tomato sauce, was too young to ”understand” that dish.

At the end of the master class dinner, after sampling what after all will just be a small part of Pierangelini’s dishes and ravioli repertoire, I realized the remark made sense - while the child would probably respond to just plain old delicious food, he or she would not be able to marvel at the miracle of taking as ubiquitous, standard and ”basic” a dish as spaghetti and tomato sauce and (1) putting it on the menu of a Michelin restaurant and (2) understanding how to bring out the intrinsic nobility - how to sense, then coax and whisper it out in the act of preparing it - so that it had a rightful place there.

Frankly, after this experience, I don’t think many of us adults ”understand” spaghetti, or ravioli for that matter, but taking Pierangelini’s course made me feel I was getting there, at least on the ravioli front.

So: did the course  ”Ravioli and the Art of Surprise” live up to its billing ? For me, resoundingly, in many more ways than I could have imagined. I don’t see myself starting to make my own pasta any time soon, but in terms of ”ravioli appreciation”, getting a sense of the intricacy of the subject, learning Pierangelini’s approach to selecting and handling ingredients, composing a menu - and not least as a source of ideas - it was just terrific.

PS

For the three hour class and the dinner, the price was 260 Swiss francs, including aperitifs, wines, water and coffee. I call that value for money. Fulvio Pierangelini will be giving another cooking class on April 28, 2010, called ”Risotto and Spring”. No more than 15 people can be accommodated, so reserve now at the number below.

To get a feel for Pierangelini’s credo of coaxing the max out of simple things and making them become heavenly delicious in the process, why not go to ”Italian-style family lunches” that Le Jardin is planning from January 31 through June 27, 2010. On the menu: ”Geneva’s best lasagne”, roast free-range chicken with mashed potatoes, and vanilla ice cream. Price without beverages is 60 Swiss francs per adult; the charge for children under 12 is .30 Swiss francs per centimeter of height. It goes without saying that these are Pierangelini-inspired meals, as interpreted by Roberto Benvegnù and team; Pierangelini will not be present.

Ask for the Richemond’s new ”Les Rendez-Vous Gourmands” brochure, chock full of foodie events, including some tasting dinners at which Fulvio Pierangelini will be present.

For more info and reservations, call Switzerland (0)22 715 71 01. More about the hotel at www.lerichemond.com.

Visual courtesy of Le Richemond, Geneva

Lugano-based food and wine writer Alberto Dell’Acqua’s book D’Vinis was designated Best Wine Book In The World in 2009 by the Gourmand Awards. The book deals with the history of wine and sommellerie, which is to say the selection, cellaring, serving and tasting of fine wine.

Although the text is in German, French and Italian, for many anglophones D’Vinis warrants purchase anyway because of its sumptuous design and over 600 illustrations.

”An English edition may be published somewhere further down the line,” says Dell’Acqua.

It wouldn’t be the first time one of his books has appeared in English. In 2004, he published Ticino Foody: British and Ticinese Historic-Culinary Encounters to celebrate the centenary of the Anglican Church of St. Edward the Confessor in Lugano.

To accompany his text on Ticinese chefs who emigrated to Britain (and their not inconsiderable influence there), and the attraction the Ticino held for British tourists from the 19th century, members of St. Edward’s contributed a variety of recipes 60 of which, ranging from Toad in the Hole to Risotto, are featured in the book.

What motivated me, however, to include a mention of Dell’Acqua and his work in my blog  ”A Matter of Taste”  is this: in a country - Switzerland - where we mostly hear from the Swiss-Germans and the Swiss-French about their food and wine (or from Swiss-Germans about Ticinese food and wine: some readers may be familiar with Marion Michels’s German and English 2008 publication Ticino con Amore - a life style, travel, food and wine guide with recipes), unless we’re based in Ticino material about it tends to be quite sparse.

So I welcome knowing about a resource who is a real live Ticinese, an expert who has written about local cuisine (albeit not in English) in Cucinabella (2003), for example.

”However,” Dell’Acqua says, ”all you could possibly want to know about local Ticinese cuisine, wines, spirits, hotels and restaurants from grottoes to gastronomic, you will find month by month in my magazine Gastronomie & Tourisme. Although the magazine takes readers to very part of the world in search of gastronomic delights, there is always an attentive eye to what is happening locally.”

Dell’Acqua has been publishing this trade publication since 1973, and the same holds true for it as does for D’Vinis: it’s  not in English, but hey, great pix.

More about the Gourmand Awards at www.cookbookfair.com
To order d’Vinis: info[at]gastronmietourisme.ch

Dell’Acqua’s website is www.gastronomietourisme.ch. His other books and subscriptions to Gastronomie & Tourisme can also be ordered here.

Visual courtesy of Alberto Dell’Acqua

COMING UP IN LUGANO… January 29 to February 1, 2010

Ristora, Salone della Ristorazione dell’Ospitalità e dell’Enogastronomia - a catering, hospitality, fine wine and food fair open to trade and public alike (entry CHF 10). The Lugano Wine Festival takes place within the framework of this event at the Centro Esposizioni in Lugano. More at www.ristora.ch.

April 11 to May 3, 2010

S. Pellegrino Sapori Ticino 2010 - called ”Viva le donne!” (Long Live Women!) this year because seven top European women chefs will be guest cheffing at seven of the Ticino’s best restaurants. On the final evening (May 3), the (male) chefs from those seven venues in Lugano, Ascona and Vacallo will combine their talents for a gala meal at Lugano’s Palazzo Mantegazza. More info at www.sanpellegrinosaporiticino.ch.

There are weekly fresh produce markets all over Switzerland (for a list, go to www.5amtag.ch, in the German version click on Taten & Worte, then Marktinfo; in the French version, click on Actions & Projets, Infomarché), but May through November is when the big annual markets and fests take place. Some options include:

May 4. Wil, canton St. Gallen. This May Market is also a cattle market, so some fine photo ops there. www.wiltourismus.ch (in the A-Z search, click on ‘M’ for Maimarkt).

May 14-15. Biel-Bienne, canton Bern. Huge farmers’ market in the town center - some 70 stalls selling fruit & veg, flowers, baked goods, meat, sausage, eggs, dairy products, honey, jam, syrup, mustard, oil, vinegar, wine and more. Crafts stands, demos (basket making, pottery), folk music and dancing, plus food stalls selling snacks round out the event. www.biel-bienne.ch (click on Leisure, then Top Events, then insert dates into Agenda search and select “Brauchtum/Märkte” - it’ll come up as the Bauern und Grünmarkt/Marché Paysan).

June 18-20. Zofingen, canton Aargau. The ‘’largest organic festival in the heart of Switzerland” is the way this big-ticket market bills itself. www.biomarche.ch.

July (date to be confirmed). Carouge, canton Geneva. Tomato Festival. www.umg.ch.

September (dates to be confirmed). Saignelégier, canton Jura. Switzerland’s largest organic market.  www.marchebio.ch.

September (date to be confirmed). Guerbetal, canton Bern.  ”Kabisfest” or Cabbage Festival  - this area is the largest producer of sauerkraut in Switzerland. www.guerbetal.ch/wb/pages/verkehrsverband/tourismusbuero.php and www.thurnen-sauerkraut.ch.

September (dates to be confirmed). Délémont-Courtemelon, canton Jura. Big terroir market. www.concours-terroir.ch.

October 3. Grangettes, canton Fribourg. Smoky, authentic - apples and pears are cooked down outdoors in great cauldrons to make the jam or filling known as vin cuit. www.skiclubgiboulees.ch/vincuit/index.html.

October (date to be confirmed). Corsier, canton Geneva. Pumpkin Fest. www.opage.ch.

October 15-16. St. Gingolph, canton Valais. Chestnut fest known as the Fête de la Chataigne. There’s usually a boar roasted over an open fire, and always  brisolée (typically, roasted chestnuts, butter, rye bread, pickles, walnuts, meats, cheeses, fruit, and a glass of local wine or must), and brisolée royale (the same as a simple brisolée, except the selection of meats and cheeses is greater). www.st-gingolph.ch.

October 16-17. Fully, canton Valais. Arguably Switzerland’s best-known chestnut fest. Stroll through a beautiful 15 ha grove of chestnut trees, and buy either a paper cone’s worth of roasted chestnuts or tuck into a more substantial brisolée. This is a big-ticket event, read all about it (sorry, it’s in French only) at www.fully.ch and  http://brisolee.isuisse.com/brisolee.htm.

October 24, 2010.  Greppen, Lucerne. According to organizers, Switzerland’s largest chestnut market. www.kastanien.net. (If website is still under reconstruction, call IG Pro Kastanien Zentralschweiz secretariat, 041 450 21 38).

November 3. Aarau, Canton Aargau. Carrot market. www.rueblimaert.ch.

November 13. Richterswil, Zurich. World’s largest turnip festival, not a vegetable market in that sense but with some 27 tons of carved, candle-filled turnips providing parade lanterns and decorating the town.  www.räbechilbi.ch.

November 23. City of Bern. Iconic annual Onion Market. www.berninfo.com.

January 6. On Epiphany, known as Dreikönigstag in German, there’s sweet bread in bakery shops and supermarkets that comes with a little plastic baby Jesus figure inside and a gold paper crown. Whoever’s piece of bread contains the figure gets to put on the crown and boss the rest of the family around for the day.

January 27. In the run-up to Fasnacht (carnival) in Basel, a tradition called Vogel Gryff puts the spotlight on the Right Bank part of the city called Kleinbasel. Things kick off around 11 a.m., when a raft on the Rhine brings a man disguised as a ‘wild man’ to the bridge known as the Mittlere Brücke. Here, he meets up with two men disguised as a lion and a griffin. At noon, the three dance on the bridge to the sound of drums, then go off with fellow guild members for a festive meal together. After lunch, they continue their dance in the streets of Kleinbasel. What about lunch for on-lookers? A traditional specialty called Suuri Läberli hits the spot - “sour liver”, or pork liver with onions and red wine vinegar, served with rösti. If you can’t find a local eatery serving this, then go to Café Spitz in the Hotel Merian (www.hotel-merian.ch); they may or may not be serving Suuri Läberli, but they have things like Schnitzel and Geschnetzeltes and going there is a tradition - they push all the tables together and serve hot lunches non-stop from 11:30 a.m. through the afternoon. More about Vogel Gryff at www.basel.ch and www.vogel-gryff.ch.

February-March, Carnival, known as Fasnacht in the Swiss-German speaking part of the country, kicks off in mid-February. The best-known Fasnacht is in Basel (February 22-24, 2010), where sampling the famous flour soup (Mehlsuppe) and onion or cheese ramekins - Ziebele-und Käswaje respectively in Swiss-German - sold at street stalls is part of the fun. www.basel.ch.

But events in Lucerne (February 11-16), www.luzern.com; Fribourg (Carnaval des Bolzes, February 12-16), www.carnavaldesbolzes.ch; Bern (February 18-20), www.berninfo.com; and Zurich (February 19-21), www.zurichcarneval.ch, are also renowned, as are various Valais festivities such as those in Leukerbad /Loèche-les-Bains (February 11-16), www.leukerbad.ch. Not least, there is carnevale in Ticino, where the risottata - cooking big batches of risotto in the street - is a hallmark. Key dates include the Rabadan in Bellinzona, which takes place from February 11 through 16, www.rabadan.ch.

As early as January, large pancake-shaped dough fritters sprinkled liberally with powdered sugar - Fasnachtschüechli, merveilles de carnaval, frittelle di carnevale - are available in Swiss supermarkets.

April 4-5, Easter. Roast kid (young goat) is traditionally served, and a rice tart that’s quite complicated to make so the Swiss usually buy it from a bakery shop - it’s instantly recognizable since a stenciled rabbit of powdered sugar adorns the top. Chocolate abounds at this season!

April 19. Winter-chasing events, which start well before Zurich’s Sechseläuten on April 19 in 2010 www.sechselaeuten.ch, are among the most spectacular of Swiss events. Sechseläuten actually combines blowing up the effigy of a snowman with a costumed horse-back parade representing what were the city’s medieval guilds and are now exclusive men’s clubs. Watch out for Tirggel, honey cookies that are molded with attractive motifs, also very popular in the Zurich area at Christmastime.

From May, the cows go up the mountain to graze at high-altitude until September or October. The procession is known as Alpaufzug, inalpe or poya in French. In Valais, just one option to observe the process is Morgins where there are daytime cow fights to determine who will be queen of the cows during the summer, Alphorn entertainment, roesti, raclette, pie, and dancing from 7 p.m…. www.tovassiere.ch.

Ascents and  descents from the mountain have been immortalized in everything from Swiss naïve art to the brass cut-outs on Appenzell leather belts and dog collars.

In August, there are mid-summer fests like the Fête de la Mi-Eté in St.-Cergue (VD) which features a cow beauty pageant (the public get to vote on their favorite) and a cow plop competition among other highlights, www.mi-ete.populus.ch.

Cervelas dubbed the ‘’King of Swiss sausages”, potato salad, local wines and beers - also August 1 or Swiss National Day fare par excellence - are a big part of fetes like these, which are a great source of local foods to eat on the spot or buy and take home.

September-October. Often with traditional dress worn, flower headdresses for the cows, and feting, the cows coming down from the mountain (Alpabzug or désalpe) is celebrated. Some of the most picturesque occasions are in Sörenberg, Lucerne, Elm in Glarus and in the Prätiggau in Graubünden.

The cheese made from the milk during this summer grazing is called Alpkäse or fromage d’alpage. During Kaeseteilet or ”division of the cheeses” days, where the big wheels are divied up among participating farmers, visitors are welcome, and can taste the cheese. The Kaeseteilet usually coincides with ”cows coming down from the mountain” festivities. Many believe the best one is in Bern’s Justistal, www.schweizeralpkaese.ch.

Autumn. Hunting and gathering season. Wild mushroom collectors fill Swiss forests at this time of year, and restaurants proudly announce la chasse, Wild, and cacciagione season when a typical hunt meal may consist of deer or other game, spaetzle, gravy, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, wild mushrooms, a halved apple or pear filled with a red berry relish, the whole trimmed with grapes and chestnuts.

November to March is when Swiss butcher shops sell black pudding or blood sausage (Blutwurst, boudin noir), made with pig’s blood. In many parts of the country,  Leberwurst or saucisse grise  (basically a pork offal sausage with about 15% liver) is also produced at this time of year. Some people prefer having just one or the other for a meal, but many enjoy both at the same meal. Cook the sausages in very hot water and serve hot, in slices, with either mashed potatoes or apple sauce. At this season, black pudding may also be served in certain restaurants not least niche establishments that feature a Metzgete or cochonnaille - a large meal consisting of different types of pork dishes.  St. Martin’s Day feasts in November in the Swiss canton of Jura are based in the Metzgete or cochonnaille tradition.

December 6. St. Nicholas Day. Special sweet bread is sold in bakery shops and supermarkets to honor this day. The loaf is shaped like a man, who has raisins for eyes and holds a bunch of twiglets. There are various fetes and other events all over Switzerland on this day, the most spectacular of which is Klausjagen in Küssnacht am Rigi (Schwyz), www.klausjagen.ch.

December 10 and 12, Escalade. Geneva’s Old Town comes alive during this celebration of an important date - the night of December 11-12 1602, when Geneva repelled the Duke of Savoy’s attempt at invasion once and for all and was thus able to maintain its independence. Marking the anniversary are historical re-enactments, a parade, a bonfire - and traditional foods; let’s not forget that the iconic image of the event has become a pot of vegetable soup commemorating the one that a brave lady is supposed to have thrown out her window thus killing a Savoy soldier. That’s why vegetable soup is served at street stalls during the festivities, and versions of the pot in chocolate, filled with marzipan vegetables, are sold in the shops. Other good local things to eat and drink at the stalls dotting the Old Town during the weekend: wild boar roasted on a spit, pear-filled baked goods called rissoles, and mulled wine. More about the program at www.1602.ch.

Christmas festivities. The Swiss love Christmas cookies like cinnamon stars with glazed sugar icing. Honey cookies called Tirggel are popular in the Zurich area: some have little holes in them for ribbon so you can tie them on the Christmas tree. Yule logs, amply available in bakery shops and supermarkets all over the country, are a favorite dessert at special holiday meals. A favorite savory dish in Geneva is cardoons (sold fresh at food markets only at this time of year) in white sauce au gratin to go with the Christmas turkey.

Under Events, www.myswitzerland.com lists a dizzying array of winter-chasing events as well as cow and sheep up/down mountain fetes, and more.

January 29-February 1, Lugano, Ticino, Ristora: Salone della Ristorazione dell’Ospitalità e dell’Enogastronomia. The Lugano Wine Festival takes place within the framework of this salon, more at www.ristora.ch

February 1-5, St. Moritz, Graubünden, 17^th Gourmet Festival, an exclusive event, this year’s theme: ‘’Culinary Stars & Icons”, www.stmoritz-gourmetfestival.ch

March 11-14, Weinfelden, Thurgau, Wine and Gourmet Fair, www.schlaraffia.ch

March 20, Versoix, Chocolate Festival, www.festivalduchocolat.ch. Since Geneva is ”international capital” of World Circus Year 2010, this year’s festival is circus-themed, more at www.worldcircus.org

May 7-30, Commune of Schwyz, participating restaurants serve food and wine typical of a specific area in Switzerland, great way to learn about this country’s different cuisines, www.info-schwyz.ch

July 9-18, Gstaad, Bern, the ‘’Davidoff Saveurs” gourmet festival somewhat comically named the ‘’Week of Relish” in English but nevertheless a serious (and exclusive) foodie venue, www.davidoffsaveurs.ch

August 1, it’s Swiss National Day and all over the country brunch is served on farms and at wineries, more at www.brunch.ch

September through November, Bern, Lucerne, Central Switzerland, all manner of local cheese events and markets listed here: www.cheese-festival.ch, click on Anlässe. Also see www.schweizeralpkaese.ch

September 11-12, Fribourg and Bulle, gargantuan Thanksgiving-style repast with unique specialties, go to www.fribourgregion.ch and check out Manifestations, Bénichon, they also feature a traditional menu. Call to find out what area restaurants will be serving a Bénichon meal, telephone number is under Contacts

September 16-26, ‘’Taste Week” aka Semaine du Gôut, Woche der Genüsse and Settimana del Gusto, slow food and terroir products promoted at myriad events all over the country, www.gout.ch

October 8-11, Kongresshaus Zurich, Gourmesse is a big ticket foodie fair, www.gourmesse.ch

October 9-10, villages in Gruyère, canton Fribourg: Bénichon, a gargantuan Thanksgiving-style repast with unique specialties, go to www.fribourgregion.ch and check out Manifestations, Bénichon, they also feature a traditional menu. Call to find out what area restaurants will be serving a Bénichon meal, telephone number is under Contacts

October 15-24, BEA Bern Expo, international and Swiss wines, regional food products, www.bernerweinmesse.ch, food products www.regionalprodukte.ch

October 28-November 1, Bulle, Fribourg, Salon Suisse des Gôuts et Terroirs - this fair is an annual biggie for foodies, www.gouts-et-terroirs.ch

November 7-10, Beaulieu Lausanne, Vaud, hotel and catering trade fair, www.gastronomia.ch

Around November 11, Fête de la St Martin in the canton of Jura, go to www.lasaintmartin.ch for a typical menu, a list of restaurants that will be serving the mammoth feast, and on what dates.

The annual home exhibitions in the larger Swiss cities are always good bets for food and of course for local products Christmas markets, traditional events like the ascent and descent of the cows from high-altitude pastures in spring and fall, or mid-summer events in August, also wine fairs and festivals, are great venues. Check these out under Interests/Food & Wine/Culinary Events at www.myswitzerland.com.

January 29-February 1, Lugano, Ticino, Lugano Wine Festival, www.ristora.ch

March 11-14, Weinfelden, Thurgau, Wine and Gourmet Fair, www.schlaraffia.ch

March 15-17, Estavayer-le-Lac, Fribourg, Coop wine fair on a boat moored here, international and Swiss wines, www.coop.ch/les-rois-du-vin

March 18-21, city of Neuchâtel, Coop wine fair on a boat moored here, international and Swiss wines, www.coop.ch/les-rois-du-vin

March 18-25, Messezentrum Zurich-Oerlikon, Expovina-Primavera, international and Swiss wines, www.expovina-primavera.ch

April 14-19, Morges, Vaud, Arvinis wine fair, international and Swiss wines, California Wines guest of honor in 2010, www.arvinis.com

May 1, Epesses, Vaud, new wine from vineyards in the heart of the Lavaux UNESCO world heritage site, helicopter rides over the area 45.-Swiss francs adults, 30.-francs children, www.epesses-nouveau.ch

May 13-15, Valais, open house days of wineries, www.vinsduvalais.ch

May 13-15, Martigny, Valais, beer fest, international and Swiss beers, www.fetedelabiere.ch

May 21-22, Vaud, open house days of wineries, www.vins-vaudois.com

May 29, Geneva, open house day of wineries, www.lesvinsdegeneve.ch

May (dates to be confirmed), Ticino, ”Cantine Aperte” - open house day at wineries, www.ticinowine.ch

June 19, Boveresse, Neuchâtel, festival in the heart of absinthe country - absinthe originated in Neuchâtel, www.fetedelabsinthe.ch

June 19-20, Schaffhausen’s ‘’Traubenblütenfest” celebrates first buds on the vines in this Swiss wine region known for its ‘’Blauburgunder” (= Pinot Noir), www.blauburgunderland.sh

September 2-5, Bellinzona, Ticino, a wine harvest festival offering music, theater, a costume parade and of course plenty of local wine, www.bacchica.ch

September 4-5, Sierre, Valais, wine tasting event with a focus on Swiss wines, some international, www.vinea.ch

September 18-19, Russin, Geneva, wine harvest festival features Au Coin des Connaisseurs tasting bar with over 135 Geneva wines, www.fetedesvendangesrussin.ch. Geneva being the ”international capital” of World Circus Year 2010, a circus theme will run through the festival this year, more at www.worldcircus.org

September 24-26, City of Neuchâtel, street party atmosphere, food and local wine, entertainment - the Fête des Vendanges is Switzerland’s biggest annual wine harvest festival, www.fete-des-vendanges.ch

September 24-26, Fläsch, Graubünden, local wine fest, www.graubuendenwein.ch

September 24-26, Mendrisio, Ticino, the Sagra dell’ Uva celebrates local wine and food, with lots of entertainment, www.sagradelluva.ch

October 15-24, BEA Bern Expo, international and Swiss wines, regional food products, www.bernerweinmesse.ch

October 23-31, Messe Basel, international and Swiss wine and whisky fair, www.baslerweinmesse.ch

October and November (dates to be confirmed), Geneva and Lausanne, Coop wine fairs on moored boats, international and Swiss wines, www.coop.ch/les-rois-du-vin

November 4-18, Buerkliplatz, Zurich City, Expovina, Switzerland’s largest wine event on 12 boats, international and Swiss wines, www.expovina.ch

November 6, Peissy, Geneva, Fête de la St. Martin, all the village wineries are open for wine tasting, this event has a lot of authenticity and charm, www.lesvinsdegeneve.ch

November (dates to be confirmed), Jardin Anglais, Geneva City, tasting of Geneva wines on a lake boat, www.barkavin.ch

December (dates to be confirmed), Buerkliplatz, Zurich City, on a moored boat, international whiskies, www.whiskyschiff.ch

More about Swiss products: go to www.swisswine.ch and click through to regional promotion offices for local events. In general, attending local fests, the annual home exhibition fairs held in the larger cities, food fairs and markets, are also a great way to learn more about Swiss beer, wine and spirits.

More about international products: Swiss wine and spirits merchants regularly organize tastings, and foreign wine promotion offices and other interest groups do as well usually in hotels - check your papers locally, or go on the websites of producers that interest you to see if they are featuring any special events in Switzerland.

Swiss botanist José Vouillamoz wears two hats: he’s a specialist in Alpine herbs and plants, and a DNA researcher making quite a name for himself identifying the place of origin of grape varieties - in fact, he recently rewrote the parts of the Oxford Companion to Wine that have to do with that subject. He and Dr. Claire Arnold have just released their findings on the origins of Chasselas: the grape is native to the area around Lausanne, where the best Chasselas wines are made to this day.

Gail Mangold-Vine: First, can you tell us a little about your background and how you came to be researching the DNA of grapes?

José Vouillamoz: I was trained as a botanist at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) where I did my PhD thesis on plant molecular systematics, an odd string of words to say that we classify plants by comparing their DNA. I had been a wine lover for a long time, so I wondered how this technique could be applied to grapes. Well, some people had thought about it before, in particular Prof. Carole Meredith at the University of California in Davis who discovered in 1997 the unsuspected parentage of Cabernet Sauvignon: it is a natural cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. Since almost nothing had been done on Swiss grapes at that time, I applied for a grant to the Swiss National Foundation to study the origin and parentage of Valais varieties at UC Davis. I got the grant in 2001 and I spent one year at Prof. Meredith’s lab in Davis. Since then, the virus is in me.

Gail Mangold-Vine: What impact do you think DNA research is going to have, in general but also specifically as regards Chasselas?

José Vouillamoz: Wine consumers are usually interested in knowing the name and origin of a grape variety, and many legends have been told about the origin of the most important grapes. For Chasselas, several hypotheses were made on its origin: Switzerland, France, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, etc. DNA profiling now provides a powerful tool to reconstruct grape parentages. DNA recently established that the origin of Chasselas is most likely to be in the Leman lake area. The impact of such studies is both cultural and economic: they help to better understand the local heritage of viticulture and the migrations of grapes and men, and they can be used as a marketing tool, because the more stories we have to tell about a wine, the more we can sell it.

Gail Mangold-Vine: What are the avenues for developing this sort of research worldwide and the benefits to be derived from such development? How about Switzerland specifically?

José Vouillamoz: This sort of research is rather expensive, because it requires trained scientists and well-equipped laboratories. In the Old World, historic wine countries like France, Spain and Italy began studying the origin and parentage of their grapes in the mid-90’s, followed by Portugal, Croatia and Greece at the end of the 1990’s, and then by Switzerland, Bulgaria, Iran and Hungary since 2000. In the New World, there is no native wine grape variety, and all grapes cultivated today have been imported. Australia was the first to test DNA profiling on their grape collection in 1993, followed by California since 1994. More recently, Brazil, Chile and Argentina also made DNA studies on their grape varieties. In Switzerland, the State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER) funded the Swiss Vitis Microsatellite Database, in which I have created an online database gathering all the DNA profiles of all the grape varieties cultivated in Switzerland. Such studies provide a better characterization of the varieties and are relevant to the understanding of the transmission of resistance genes, which might provide new ideas for future artificial crosses in order to improve grape resistance and quality.

Gail Mangold-Vine: You are also a wine taster, and it would interest me to hear what you think some of the best Swiss wines are - not specific wineries so much as the highlights and unique features of Swiss wine production around the country - and where you think the wine scene is or should be going in this country.

José Vouillamoz: In Switzerland, over 100 grape varieties are cultivated on around 15′000 hectares, which might well be a world record of grape biodiversity. Almost each Swiss canton has its traditional wine: Dôle and Fendant in Valais, Chasselas in Vaud, Gamay in Geneva, Pinot Noir and Chasselas in Neuchâtel, Merlot in Ticino, Blauburgunder (= Pinot Noir) in Graubünden and other Swiss German cantons, etc. After these classics, curious readers should get to know some exciting and often highly sought-after wines like: Cornalin, Amigne and Arvine in Valais, Aligoté and Viognier in Geneva, Dornfelder, Dunkelfelder and Räuschling in Swiss German cantons, etc. The most adventurous readers could actively seek out unique and rare varietal wines with a long traditional history: Lafnetscha, Himbertscha, Durize or Rèze in Valais, Plant Robert (= Gamay) and Mondeuse Noire in Vaud, Completer in Graubünden, Bondola in Ticino, Schwarzer Erlenbacher in Zurich, Elbling in Swiss German cantons, etc. Arvine and Completer are my favorite Swiss wines. Arvine is cultivated on some 150 ha in Valais and gives fascinating dry and sweet wines. Completer is a rare white grape of Graubünden cultivated on no more than 2.5 ha by a handful of producers, giving powerful and complex wines with significant ageing ability.

With such high production costs, Swiss wines will never be able to compete with good quality-price ratio wines from other European countries or from the New World. The Swiss wine scene must definitely build on excellence, and several world-class Swiss wines can act as flagships for the entire country.

Gail Mangold-Vine: Any tips for English speakers new to Swiss wines about the best ways to go about discovering them, to get a real overview?

José Vouillamoz: Swiss wine export is approximately 1% of the total production, therefore the best way to discover Swiss wine is to come to Switzerland. Besides reading your articles on Swisster, English speakers could check www.swisswine.ch for information on grapes and wine-producing regions, and the English version of the Guide des Vins Suisses for an extensive selection and description of producers and their wines. The following retailers have an excellent selection of the best Swiss wines: Club Divo and Club CAVESA, two serious wine clubs with a thorough selection including very hard-to-find stuff; Lavinia in Geneva; and La Cave de Reverolle near Morges.

Visual courtesy of José Vouillamoz

December 3-6, 2009. Over 700 tasting-worthy whiskies on three lake boats moored at Buerkliplatz in Zurich City (there’s even ”whisky wurst” on the restaurant menu),  and Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean there to perform on three days of the four-day event - which you will be admitted to for free if you’re wearing a kilt!

Open 4 to 11 p.m. on the 3rd and 4th, 2 to 11 p.m. on the 5th, and 2 to 7 p.m. on the 6th.

Entry is CHF 18 (4-day pass: CHF 54), with 2 francs for a tasting glass and 1 franc each for tasting coupons.

More at www.whiskyschiff.ch.

December 10-13, 2009. Wines from Tuscany, various olive oils, balsamic vinegar, goat’s cheese,  grilled peppers, semi-dried tomatoes, pesto - all manner of tempting fare here, not least for holiday gifts. And while you are wine tasting, you’ll be offered a delicious plate of house-made risotto.

Open 5 to 9 p.m. on the 10th and 11th, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the 12th, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the 13th.

More at www.vinitoscani.ch.