Féchy, Vaud, Switzerland - Consumers tend to think first about the winemaking process and then about the grape-growing business if they consider the work that goes into a bottle of wine.

For the winemaker, there is a third, critical part of the process, selling the wine. Swiss cellar owners see an influx of local visitors in May and June, which is when Swiss consumers tend to restock their own cellars. July and early August are quiet, but by the end of August, when people return from their holidays, Saturday at the cellar is a must for many wine producers. It’s a busy time for Raymond and Violaine Paccot, who are unusual because their Domaine de la Colombe sells 50% of its wine directly from the cellar. Another 20% goes to restaurants and 30% to retailers.

"We’re probably part of only 10% of producers who sell such a high proportion directly," says Raymond Paccot. Most grower-producers sell a significant proportion of their harvest as grapes in bulk, to cooperatives or larger winemakers. "In 1960 my father sold all of his grapes but starting in 1961 he bottled 20% and the rest were sold in bulk. When I arrived, in 1978, and up until 1990, we still sold grapes in bulk."

The Paccots are third-generation winemakers, with each generation focusing on developing a different part of the business, which explains in part why the domain today sells so much wine directly. "Wine companies often have a history that is older than we are - we’re mostly
family businesses. And we have to think about what each generation can do, can bring to the business. In our case, Grandfather bought the vines and built that up. Father built the cellar. I’ve developed the commercial side, and I have bought more vines."

The additional vineyards have been relatively small, but very carefully selected to help Paccot develop new wines, a passion for which he is gaining a reputation that goes beyond the Chasselas which first brought him notoriety in the wine world.

"Compared to producers elsewhere our investments are small, but they are very sound. We invest first in our vines, then in a cellar and now in marketing, in Switzerland. But up until now, the marketing has been the least dynamic part of it."

Paccot is referring to Switzerland in general. The way the commercial side of the wine business is handled varies hugely from one country to another for historical and export-related reasons. France, one of the largest and oldest exporters in the world, relies heavily on
marketing.

Neighbouring Switzerland, with excellent growing conditions and many great wines, has a little-developed marketing system. "In France, even though they are competitors, the producers band together to market their wines abroad," points out Paccot. "In Switzerland, we have not traditionally done that."

Two things changed a few years ago. The protected market was opened to imports at the turn of the century and Swiss producers, fearing a flood of cheaper wines, began to reassess what they had to offer. One result was that vines were replaced and new grape varieties grown in larger quantities, which meant educating a world which popularly defined Swiss wine as white and crisp about the new reality of wines made in Switzerland. At the same time, Swiss consumers began to drink less. The shift in production combined with changing drinking habits led, as it did elsewhere in Europe, to over-production.

An effort to create a Swiss national marketing body failed in 2005 when cost over-runs forced it to shut down. It has since been reorganized  and Swiss Wine Communication, run by the Swiss Inter-profession Wine Association, is making a more modest effort to promote Swiss wines. Regional promotional organizations are becoming stronger, particularly in Geneva, Vaud and Valais.

It might appear ironic that the Swiss are now worried about marketing, given that Switzerland does not produce enough wine to meet its own needs. Switzerland has 14.9 million hectares of vines, which in 2005 provided 100 million litres of wine and approximately the same in 2006. The Swiss import 60% of their wine, most of it from France and
Italy. The country has the highest per capita import figure for wine in the world: 26 litres per inhabitant per year (tourists raise consumption figures).

So why bother with marketing? Raymond Paccot is emphatic that Switzerland has a special role to play in the wine world because its potential for great wines is excellent. "We have to work now at keeping our good reputation at home but the real challenge is to become known abroad." A reputation outside the country is always good for sales at home, and it will anchor Switzerland’s increasingly strong if small role in the world wine market.

Yann Juban, deputy director general of the Organisation Internationle de la Vigne et du Vin,
agrees that  Switzerland should work to get past the reputation of being a Chasselas-only country. He was in Sierre 17-19 August for the Mondial du Pinot Noir competition. "There are some really excellent Swiss wines, the Pinot Noirs, for example, and the Cornalin - not just whites. When I first came to Switzerland 10 years ago with my wife, we had some Chasselas and took home a few bottles. They were all right but I wasn’t that impressed. Then when I began to come back here for these competitions and I saw some of the wines being produced here I realized that, as a Frenchman, I simply wasn’t aware of them." Juban smiles that this is not uncommon for the French, who tend not to look beyond their own
borders for wine. "There are wines here that will hold their own anywhere in the world. And the potential, especially for wine tourism, is enormous."

For Paccot, this translates into a serious business issue that goes beyond marketing current products. "Our challenge now is what varieties we’ll plant. Do we move beyond just Chasselas but follow tradition? We’re known for white so either you follow everyone and plant Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Or, you say red is on the rise and you follow that, but
planting vines to follow trends is risky because by the time the vines are really ready the trend may have shifted."

Paccot’s own solution is to create beautiful new blends. "But we have to explain these wines, show them to people, organize tasting sessions in restaurants and at exhibits, make sure they appear on menus. This approach is especially important for small producers because people don’t know what we’re doing and they don’t know these tastes. The first reaction most of us have to something we don’t know is to say we don’t like it! So we need to help people learn to appreciate what is new to them."

Posted by Ellen Wallace on 19 August 2007 on Geneva Lunch