No, it is a reality. It is a picture of heroic viticulture carried out by passionate, enthusiastic men and women driven by a somewhat wild idealism, sometimes bordering on utopianism. For it takes courage, tenacity, determination, self-sacrifice, and unwavering dedication to cultivate these vines that touch the sky in the rugged, mountainous landscapes of Valais, the Aosta Valley, and Piedmont in Italy. But also Galicia in Spain, Sicily, and Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany, where the world's best Riesling wines are found, with grapes planted along the Moselle River on slopes whose gradient approaches 30 or even 50%.
These vineyards represent only 7% of the European wine-growing area. They often produce full-bodied, fleshy, robust, vigorous, and powerful wines, reflecting the regions where they are planted. Cornalin is a prime example, a wine of character, much like the inhabitants of the canton that hosts it.
Generally, these vineyards are planted in magnificent landscapes – Lavaux in the canton of Vaud, the Cinque Terre in Italy, or the Douro in Portugal, to name just a few UNESCO-listed wine landscapes, always in search of exceptional scenery.
The Italians of the Aosta Valley have established a competition, CERVIM, which rewards these valiant winegrowers and whose philosophy is "to encourage and safeguard the production of small wine-growing areas distinguished by their history, traditions, and unique character."
Think of it next time you taste one of our wines!
