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Lutry is a Swiss wine appellation centered on the village of the same name (a suburb of Lausanne) in the Lavaux wine region of Vaud. Planted on south-facing slopes overlooking Lake Geneva, the vines here are blessed with a very sunny aspect, magnified by the bright alpine sunlight which reflects off the surface of the lake.
Located just a short distance from central Lausanne, Lutry lies at the western edge of Lavaux, not far from the eastern vineyards of La Cote. Elevation and gradient play an important role in the terroir here. The surface of Lake Geneva (which itself moderates local temperatures) lies at 1240ft (380m). In places, the vineyards rise directly from the water's edge, climbing steeply for up to 1000ft (300m) at gradients of 90% – or even more, where terraces have been excavated. When combined with the backdrop of the lake and alpine peaks, these sites make for some of the most dramatic (and labor-intensive) vineyard locations in Europe.
A typical vineyard in Lutry is planted mostly with Chasselas, by far the most common grape variety in Lavaux and indeed throughout the Vaud region. Pinot Noir and Gamay are next in line, used individually as varietals and together in Oeil-de-Perdrix and Salvagnin wines. The combined plantings of these two red varieties are roughly equal to those of Chasselas, reflecting the fact that Vaud produces almost twice as much red as white. These three dominant grapes are followed by the Gamay x Reichensteiner crosses Garanoir and Gamaret, Merlot (which can perform almost as well as in Ticino) and even a little Syrah.
The Swiss wine industry lacked a formalized appellation system until the late 1980s, but now a comprehensive structure is in place. In the nation's three official languages, the classification is variously entitled Appellation d'Origine Controlle (AOC), Geographische Ursprungbezeichnung (GUB) and Denominazione d'Origine Controllata (DOC). More than 650 appellations now cover the villages and vineyards of Switzerland, of which Lutry is one.
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