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Chablais is a wine sub-region of Vaud, situated on the northern shores of Lake Geneva in the west of Switzerland. The area is known for producing fresh, minerally white wines, mainly from the Chasselas grape. This style means that both the region's name and its wines are easily confused with those of Chablis in France.
Chablais' neighbors are La Cote and Lavaux, located along the lake to the west, but it actually has more in common with the Valais region, to the south. Because Chablais is situated just beyond the eastern edge of Lake Geneva, where the glacial waters of the Rhone flow pour in, the topography and geology here are quite different from the northern side of the lake. While La Cote and Lavaux are separated from the mountains opposite by 10 miles (15km) and the mass of Lake Geneva, the alpine valley where the Chablais vineyards huddle together is much more narrow. Running south-south-east, the valley forms a near-perfect L-shape with the Valais, the apex occupied by the town of Martigny. The valley's natural continuity is broken only by a single peak, beyond which it becomes the famous Saint Bernard Pass which connects the area to the central Aosta Valley wine region in northern Italy.
An unfortunate side effect of Chablais' orientation is that, while Valais benefits from excellent warmth and light as the sun passes overhead through the day, Chablais spends a much greater proportion of its time in shadow; the peaks above reach heights of 10,000ft (3050m). The correspondingly reduced levels of light and heat make for a clearly different wine style and crisp, steely whites are the region's stock in trade. When considering the effects of topography on wine, Martigny provides the answer.
Chablais' terroir is created by more than just its climate, however, and the glacial topography gives clues about the local soil composition. Significant morainic deposits mean that a large proportion of the vineyards have very loose, free-draining soils, which prevent waterlogging and encourage the vines to grow long, strong root systems. Other soil types include clays and limestone, some of which improve the water retention below the surface, creating reserves that are usable during drier periods.
As is standard for the Vaud region, the white wines made here are dominated by Chasselas and the reds by Pinot Noir and Gamay. Between them, these three varieties cover just over 85% of the Vaud's vineyard area, with Chasselas plantings being double those of the two red varieties combined. There is a small quantity of Pinot Gris in Chablais vineyards, plus about half as much of both Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. Although Chasselas may seem absolutely dominant here, if the rest of Switzerland is anything to go by, the ratio of red to white will increase over the coming years. In the early 1980s, nearly 70% of all Swiss wine was white (made mostly from Chasselas), but since the beginning of this century red wines are more prevalent.
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