TRAVEL

Lausanne and the Lavaux

The wine made here is so good the Swiss drink it themselves.

BY BECCA HENSLEY

WHEN I MEET MY WINE GUIDE, PASCALE FESQUET, AT A TINY train station somewhere between Montreux and Lausanne on the Swiss Riviera in Switzerland’s UNESCO-listed Lavaux region, she looks me over carefully. “Can you hike in those?”

She points to my boots. They’re not trekking shoes, but fashionable, white patent leather, ankle-high numbers. Plus, I’m wearing a dress. I nod with confidence. She looks a bit skeptical and points to some steep, vine-covered hills looming above us and a village far in the distance, all anchored by gleaming Lac Leman (Lake Geneva).

“We’re going all the way up there, as far as the eye can see,” she says, setting off quickly into the towering slope of vineyards before us. I scramble after her, clambering up the undulating paths through the vines, a patchwork of grape-filled landscape sectioned off with stone walls. On the way, she tells me about “the three suns,” the phenomenon that makes the region so unique.

“We have three heat sources that ensure our microclimate,” she says. “The sun—” she points upwards “—the lake—” she gestures toward the lake, its mirror-like water reflecting the sky “—and the slate stone walls that heat up during the day, which warm the vines at night.”

One of Europe’s most storied wine regions, the Lavaux stretches for only 20 verdant miles and occupies about 2,000 acres of hilly terrain. The vineyard-clad hills rise from Lake Geneva’s shores. Known for its signature production, Chasselas (a festive, fruity, easily drunk wine, ideal for warm days and year round aperitif swilling), the Lavaux region (like Switzerland’s other wine regions) exports very little of the wine. In fact, the Swiss drink most of the yield themselves.

Created only in small batches and produced free from chemicals, the labor-intensive Chasselas wine is primarily crafted without machinery, often being inspired by (and borrowing from) ancient biodynamic principles.

We end our hike (the boots manage to take me to the top, after all) in the charming, medieval wine village of Epesses. Renowned as the epicenter for some of Lavaux’s best wines, Epesses also sports jaw-dropping views overlooking the lake. Tiny alleyways, ancient buildings, châteaux, and colorful doorways hold scores of intimate tasting rooms. We take a seat at one, Les 11 Terre, a friendly wine cellar run by Julien Spielmann. His maisonette stocks more than 50 crus from the area, specifically drawing from 11 adjacent winemakers. Sipping not just Chasselas, but other whites

Hôtel Royal Savoy Lausanne

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and some reds, in an informative (and delectable) tasting, Pascale and I sit outside with Julien, the three of us as sun dappled as the vines that surround us. As we swill (and sweat), I ask Pascale, “Could we be the fourth sun?”

Back at my hotel, Hôtel Royal Savoy Lausanne, a stunningly refurbished art nouveau palace steps from Lake Geneva, I perch at the rooftop SkyBar and peer at the vineyards from afar. In one direction, Lausanne, dating back to the Middle Ages and its architectural fabric an amalgamation of the centuries, rises up a hill. From another viewpoint, the lake’s shoreline brims with walkers, swimmers, picnickers, and boaters. Across the water, the lights of France begin to twinkle, announcing the approach of evening. I stay until dusk, sipping a glass of Chasselas. The wine tastes of dancing sunlight and the toil and passion of generations of family winemakers working their plots on the hills I’ve hiked today. It’s like Switzerland in a glass.

WHERE TO STAY

Hôtel Royal Savoy Lausanne, beloved by jet setters, noble expats (think of the Spanish royal family and the King of Thailand), and celebrities aplenty, exudes extraordinary majesty without being stuffy. Its recent, nearly $100 million reset ensures that it summons history (but with contemporary flair) and evokes glamour (yet in a comfortable, casual way). I was delighted to see lots of children with their parents on the premises.

Encased in a leafy park, the Royal Savoy comprises two sections: the original historic château and a newly built portion which holds both rooms and the haven-like, 5,000-square-foot spa, complete with Dr Burgener Switzerland products, made in Lausanne. Guests

enjoy an outstanding hydrotherapy pool which sits in a garden. Indoors, saunas, hammans, a state-of-the-art gym, and treatment rooms provide repose.

The spa offers numerous exercise and mindfulness classes. Don’t miss a yoga practice, led by local yogi Merit Hulliger, founder of IM Yoga GmbH, which often takes place outdoors on the grounds. Besides SkyBar with its festive cocktails, social scene, and tapasstyle menu, the Hôtel Royal Savoy’s flagship restaurant, Brasserie du Royal, serves elegant dishes with regional nuances and local ingredients.

When not gallivanting about the vineyards or along the lake, I spend afternoons in the Lounge Bar with a coffee beneath the pharaonic violet chandelier and in the presence of a wall of mirrors and gilt-framed art. Atop the cerulean velvet sofas, I might be visiting royalty myself. royalsavoylausanne.com

DON’T MISS

While in Lausanne, be sure to explore Old Town. Wander into the many independent shops, walk the lakeshore, take a boat ride, hike into the vineyards to taste (and experience) the wines of the Lavaux, and visit the fascinating Olympic Museum.

ONE OF EUROPE’S MOST STORIED WINE REGIONS, THE LAVAUX STRETCHES FOR ONLY TWENTY VERDANT MILES AND OCCUPIES ABOUT 2,000 ACRES OF HILLY TERRAIN.