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Technical Details

  • Blend 100% Heida-Paien, local name for Savagnin
  • Winemaker Sandrine Caloz
  • Country Switzerland
  • Region Valais
  • Appellation Valais
  • Vineyard Les Bernunes
  • Farming Method Biosuisse Certification
  • Alcohol 13.5%

Cave Caloz Heida-Paien Les Bernunes Valais 2022

Savagnin | Valais

Biosuisse Certification

$75.00

$44.95

750ML

40% OFF RETAIL!

Switzerland drinks almost all of its own wine, so it's rare for anything to make it across the ocean – but that’s not the case today! Cave Caloz farms just seven hand-worked hectares of steep Valais terraces, and was named Organic Swiss Winemaker of the Year in 2019. We snagged one of their most distinctively charming wines for a price that make trying something new a no-brainer.

Switzerland is the wine country nobody talks about, and it grows some genuinely thrilling stuff high in the Alps. It just so happens that the Swiss are notoriously good at drinking nearly all of it themselves before it can leave the country. But when we found we could get our hands on wines from a producer like Cave Caloz, we pounced.

The Caloz family planted their first vines in Miège back in 1960, up in the Valais, where vineyards cling to steep stone terraces that have to be worked entirely by hand. Sandrine Caloz took over the six-hectare family domaine from her parents in 2013, and she's since turned it into one of the country's reference points for organic farming. The estate completed its organic conversion in 2017 and was named Vigneron BioSuisse de l'année (Organic Swiss Winemaker of the Year) in 2019. There are sheep grazing between the rows and jujube trees at the foot of the drystone walls. It's about as holistic as it gets.

The fun part of Swiss wine is the grapes – most of these you've never had, and a couple you literally can't get anywhere else on Earth. Grab them while they're here, because restocking is unlikely to happen.

Heida (aka Païen) is the same grape as Savagnin – yes, the one behind the Jura's legendary Vin Jaune and Château-Chalon. But grown up here in the thin Alpine air, it skips the funky oxidative thing its Jura cousin is known for. Instead you get a bone-dry, high-altitude white that smells like mountain herbs, pine forest, and crisp Alpine air – all flinty energy up front, with a lush core of ripe pear and citrus, and a long, faintly honeyed finish. If you love a great white Burgundy or a mineral-driven Riesling, but want to try something adventurous and new, this is all you. Fantastic with roast chicken, fondue (obviously), or richer seafood.

About The Producer

The Caloz family established their domaine in 1960, setting up their home and cellar in the village of Miege which sits midway between the town of Sierre, at the southern end of the Valais, and the famous ski area of Crans-Montana. Fernand Caloz, father of the current proprietaire, began the arduous process of tending the vines in this mountainous region where the vineyards sit on steep terraces and must be worked by hand. Conrad Caloz, son of Fernand, joined by his wife, Anne-Carole, now manages the affairs of this small family domaine. The domaine follows a philosophy and system of viticulture known locally as "Production Integree", an approach designed to "protect nature and the environment". Conrad Caloz is a founding member of Vitival, the governing body of this viticultural movement, since 1989. The rules of this system require the growers to follow a regimen of sustainable practices in the vineyards and the equipment used in the production of the wines is regulated as well, all in the cause of insuring the ongoing vitality of this visually stunning region.