Vintage year for Swiss wines recovering from the doldrums

Hot weather, no spring frost and little summer rain helped Swiss grapes increase their sugar content in 2022. © Keystone / Alexandra Wey

Optimal weather conditions produced a vintage year for Swiss wines, with production rising by nearly two thirds in 2022.

Vineyards produced 99 million litres of wine last year thanks to high temperatures and low rainfall boosting the sugar content of grapes.

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The represents a 63% increase in wine production from 2021 – a year in which adverse weather conditions produced the worst harvest since 1957.

Last year, the warm weather helped grapes to ripen and lowered the risk of disease to vines.

Vineyard irrigation systems were able to cope with the lack of rain until a return of decent rainfall in August.

In addition, there were no damaging late frosts in the spring, which have bedevilled crops in previous years.

While wine production in southern Switzerland has remained relatively stable, the changing weather fortunes helped northern wine growers increase their crop 94% between 2021 and 2022, and by 63% in western Switzerland.

Switzerland is not as internationally renowned for its wines as France or Italy. However, vineyards occupy nearly 15,000 hectares of the country.