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Neuchatel is a wine region of western Switzerland, corresponding to the canton of that name wedged between Lake Neuchatel and the border with France. It is a constituent part of the wider Neuchatel - Three Lakes region, which also incorporates Vully and Cheyres in the Fribourg canton, Bielersee in the Bern canton, and the whole of the Jura canton.
As is the developing norm across Switzerland (particularly since the early years of this century), red wine varieties now predominate in Neuchatel's vineyards. The region's 2010 vintage was made up of 55% reds, where just a few decades ago the proportion would have been closer to 25%. Pinot Noir and Chasselas are the unrivalled rulers of the vineyards here, accounting for 85% of the planted area as of the 2010 harvest. A small number of other grape varieties make an appearance, including Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The Gamay x Reichensteiner crossings Gamaret and Garanoir are also present, although Gamay itself is almost nowhere to be found in Neuchatel, despite being the red grape of choice of Geneva and Vaud to the south.
The ancient calcareous soils around Neuchatel are not dissimilar to those of Chateau Chalon, 60 miles (100km) to the west in the French Jura. These two traditional wine communes share another interesting characteristic, namely the quality-focused attitude of their winemakers. Chateau Chalon's producers still voluntarily restrict use of their appellation title in poor vintages and Neuchatel was the first Swiss region to impose yield restrictions on is vineyards.
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