Summer series – The 2/6 wine tourism ride
The sweetness of the Geneva vineyard can be enjoyed by walking
In Dardagny, the housing Stéphane Gros invites to “set foot in the terroir” and shares his contagious passion for the work of the vineyard.
Dardagny Stéphane Gros’s winegrower gets up at dawn to admire his vines.
Laurent Guiraud/Tamedia
- The winegrower Stéphane Gros guides visitors through the Dardagny vineyard.
- Explanatory panels illustrated by Pierre Baumgart present local biodiversity to walkers.
- The different stages of viticulture are detailed along an educational path.
- The route offers suggestions for food-wine agreements for each grape variety of the domain.
Vines as far as the eye can see are spread over the hillsides of Dardagny, bathed in sun. That we come from the multipurpose room and its parking lot or from the Tea-Room of the Geneva village-the two starting points of the wine ride -, the landscape is breathtaking.
This environment, the winegrower Stéphane Gros made it his playground, he who juggles 17 grape varieties on a family estate of more than seven hectares. The fag is a earthy character, with a high verb, good alive. Over twenty years ago, he launched a first discovery path with the support of the Canton of Geneva and the COmmune de Dardagny. Before restoring it entirely in 2020.
The vineyards spread out as far as the eye can see, while on the horizon, the Lignon bars can guess behind the roof of the Château de Dardagny.
Laurent Guiraud/Tamedia
“Originally, I saw people walking in my vines and asking myself questions, both about the fauna and the flora. I told myself that you had to set up a project with explanatory signs, ”he says. “Our desire is to accompany visitors by reminding them that wine is a product of pleasure, accessible to everyone.”
Drawings to surprise
Cabernet Franc, Gamaret, Chardonnay, Chasselas, among the sixty grape varieties present in Dardagny, the wine ride makes it possible to “set foot in the terroir”, in the words of the Genevan hover. “Our job is great, because each winemaker has his way of doing things, there is no competition between us.”
At the heart of the vineyard, explanatory signs are linked and reveal their share of surprises. There, a few words on the important populations of Dardagny salamanders or on the hares that are hidden in hollows of land. Here, a text on the action plan of the Canton of Geneva in matters of biodiversity. All dotted with drawings by naturalist artist Pierre Baumgart.
The wine path is dotted with explanatory panels, especially on the various grape varieties present in Dardagny.
Laurent Guiraud/Tamedia
“My idea was to highlight the transversal aspect of the path, to discuss products, cultures, but also to speak of humans and wild animals,” says the painter. There is an educational side, because people do not necessarily know the shape of a Chasselas or Gamay sheet. ”
The vineyards explained
In the early evening, the sun’s rays begin to shave the vines, without having the temperature drop. A glance beyond the hill suggests, on the horizon, the tip of the water jet which emerges behind the bars of the Lignon.
Stéphane Gros stops in front of a parcel of Cabernet Franc, this grape variety little planted in Geneva lands. “It’s my Madeleine de Proust,” says the chill. This vine has a story, because it is linked to the apiary of my grandfather, which was next to it. ”
Stories, the winemaker has so many others to tell. Especially when he marks a break on the terrace of a capit, his stamm in which he receives his friends and organizes aperitifs around a game of Jass. A corkscrew screwed to a beam also invites walkers to unclog a bottle on the way.
In his Stamm, Stéphane Gros tastes a glass of “Gros friend’s wine”, before linger on the work of the vine.
Laurent Guiraud/Tamedia
Against the wooden wall, a poster describes the work of the vine, from the size to the degradation, including the stripping and the harvest. “By popularizing these stages, I insist that we are neither magicians nor alchemists,” smiles Stéphane Gros. The wine is done here, in the sense that you will never have a good result if you produce bad grapes! ”
From vineyard to gastronomy
Strolling through the meanders of the Dardagny vineyard is finally having mouth water when a food-wine agreement is mentioned at the bend of an explanation. Example with the Sauvignon, with aromatic notes of blackcurrant, which can evolve towards the fruit of passion, even mango. And which is happy with a fish tartare or a seafood tray. “But also very well with a goat cheese”, saliva Stéphane Gros.
Enough to encourage the curious to continue on their way through the Geneva campaign, looking for local products. Pending the harvest period and the promise of future tastings.
Special day to discover the Dardagny wine path on Monday of the federal fasting on September 22. About 1 h 30 of loop. Departure from the town hall or from the center of the village. Detailed route on https://www.geneveterroir.ch/fr/map?a=1376
The rest of the visit: a detour to the French border
The viticultural ride through the Dardagny vines willingly have to discover the boundswhich follows the border with France and allows us to understand its history. A course also marked by thematic panels. “By creating this offer, we have tried to connect each of the explanations to see on the field,” said Guy Reyfer, president of the fondation Re-Borne.
Thus, cross -border biological corridors. “Animals do not know a border,” insists the one who fights for the Basic restoration of the national border of the canton of Geneva. “Rather than a large theory, we highlight an image that allows us to realize the places where animals can pass and where they are blocked.”
The terminal path is an extension of the wine ride. Through the vineyards, he notably goes through the bowl (top right), in the heart of the Dugerdil estate.
Laurent Guiraud/Tamedia
The lynx is one of the examples. In October 2016, a young feline was reported in the Allondon valley, not far from Dardagny. Three months later, he reappeared in Haute-Savoie, before hitting the road for Isère. Without worrying about the territorial limits.
The winegrowers straddling two countries
The Bornes path reminds us that The border separates as long as it brings together. All the more in Geneva, which “has never disposed of the territories allowing to feed its population, nor then the work forces necessary for its economy,” said one of the panels. “From always, we had to go beyond the logic of political borders and live together, despite the latter.”
In Dardagny, the winegrowers more than anyone know the importance of the permeability of the border. “Several Genevan pick -ups have vines on the hexagonal soil,” says Guy Reyfer. One of the peculiarities of this model is based in the fact that if they recover grapes in France, they can vinify it in Geneva AOP! ”
The favorite wine: a citrus notes chardonnay
On the metal table of its capit, Stéphane Gros aligns a selection of red, white and rosé. In the center, the winegrower presents “La Salamandre spotted”, a Chardonnay AOC Geneva, whose name refers to the animal that likes in the valleys surrounding the Coteau de Dardagny.
Originally from Burgundy, in France, the chardonnay was established in Swiss land during the XXe century. In Switzerland, it is cultivated in several wine regions – almost 30% of the grape varieties are in Geneva – and benefits from our temperate climate.
Red or white, there is something for everyone in the family field of Stéphane Gros.
Laurent Guiraud/Tamedia
The Geneva winemaker describes a drink with citrus and pineapple aromas to taste “ideally with a fish, like a line bar or a pole”. But also advises to savor his “spotted salamander” with new potatoes and a cheese tray – Vacherin Mont-D’Or et Gruyère AOP in mind.
“The Geneva week”
Discover most of the news from the Canton of Geneva, every week in your mailbox.
Other newsletters
Did you find an error? Please report it to us.
