Aglianico Cabernet Franc Chasselas Tocai Friulano Switzerland Valais Wine

Aglianico is a black skinned grape most commonly associated with the exquisite wines of the Campania region of Italy. It thrives most happily in hot and dry climates, and as such, has had plenty of success in the New World, particularly in the United States, where it is used to great effect in many red wines. It was believed to come from Greece several thousand years ago, brought by Pheonician tradesman, and was wildly popular in Roman times, when it was used in the finest wines made by the Roman empire. Aglianico grapes produce full bodied red wines which have a high tannin and acid content. As such, it has excellent ageing potential, and with a standard amount of time in a barrel, it rounds out and mellows to produce beautifully balanced wines.

Cabernet Franc is not simply an important grape varietal for the fact that it is one of the most widely grown strains of vine in the world, but also because it is a vital grape in the production of many of the finest wines the world has ever seen. For centuries in its native France, it has been a varietal synonymous with elegance and high quality, and has become a key fruit in the production of the Bordeaux and Bordeaux-style blended wines which have gone down in history thanks to their magnificent flavors, aromas and levels of aged complexity. However, Cabernet Franc is also a wine grape varietal for use in single variety, unblended wines, and has plenty to offer on its own. Most commonly, it is renowned for its wide bouquet, which often includes fascinating notes of tobacco, violets or bell pepper over a beautifully pale and decadent liquid.

The Tocai Fruiliano grape varietal has been grown in and around the northern regions of Italy for centuries, and is still widely praised for its distinctive character and beautiful set of flavors and aromas. Despite the name, the Tocai Fruiliano varietal is not actually related to the famous Tokaji grapes of Hungary, or the Tokay d'Alsace grapes, but is actually the same species as Sauvignon Vert. Wines made from the Tocai Fruiliano grape are generally a pale straw yellow in color, and are recognizable by their aroma of wild flowers and orchard fruits such as pears. The flavor of the wines varies from vineyard to vineyard, and the Tocai Fruiliano grape is renowned for having a broad set of flavors, although citrus notes are usually detectable in most bottles.




Switzerland is composed by 26 cantons and 4 linguistic areas: the German one, the French one, the Italian and the Romanche. This creates a richness of various expressions, which are also reflected in traditions, lifestyles, eating and drinking manners. Its wine-producing geography is subdivided into six areas: the cantons of Valais, of Vaud and of Geneva, the three lakes' region (Western Switzerland), the German-speaking area (Eastern Switzerland), and the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. Moreover, Switzerland's particular geographical situation, in between four wine-producing nations (France, Italy, Germany and Austria), offers an extreme diversity in the characters of its wines.


Swiss vineyards give a large choice of grape varieties, although they are still scarcely known abroad. The most typical white grape variety is Chasselas, whose extreme sensitivity to both soil and situation is reflected in subtle differences in taste. Among the red grape varieties, the most widespread is Pinot Noir which can take very different characters depending on the region from where it comes and the type of vinification it has undergone.

History