The local cheeses of Valais with the local wines that suit them, and why they work.
The cheeses of Valais with the wines made beside them. Pairings marked as a local tradition are the ones a regional source names; the rest are our own picks, and say so.
Swiss Wine Valais ranks Fendant first with Gamay for raclette: one taster wants a dry, tight white that refreshes the palate, and ambassador Eddy Baillifard stays on Fendant or Gamay for a young village raclette of 3 to 5 months.
Bottles to try:
Raclette ambassador Eddy Baillifard, quoted by Swiss Wine Valais, pairs Heida with a stronger, more floral alpage raclette: the stale rye bread notes and sustained acidity suit it. He keeps Fendant or Gamay for young village raclette.
Bottles to try:
Swiss Wine Valais ranks Gamay beside Fendant for raclette; one taster picks a tannic red to wash the melted fat off the palate, and Eddy Baillifard keeps Gamay for young village wheels of 3 to 5 months.
Bottles to try:
The Raclette du Valais consortium suggests a robust Valais red, Dôle or Pinot Noir, for this hard, salty cheese; the red fruit holds its own against a paste that is firm and slightly brittle.
Bottles to try:
The consortium's alternative to a red is a fruity Valais white, Fendant or Johannisberg: the cheese is medium salty with a sour note, and a fresh white keeps thin shavings from tiring the palate.
Bottles to try:
Swiss Wine Valais calls Petite Arvine a native grape with a saline finish that suits the region's cheeses. That salt and the wine's lively acidity cut through melted raclette fat and keep the palate fresh between scrapings.
Bottles to try:
Hobelkäse matures for at least 12 months and is shaved thin as an aperitif or a dessert. The sugar of a sweet late-harvest or Grain Noble Valais white sets off its medium salt and sour note, and the firm, brittle paste stands up to the wine's weight.
Bottles to try:
Cornalin, the native Valais red, is dark and full with supple tannin. Shaved thin, a Hobelkäse aged at least 12 months brings salt, a sour note and a firm, brittle bite, and the cheese's salt softens the tannin while the wine's fruit meets its plant and fruit notes.
Bottles to try:
A young cut cheese is milky and fresh with a sour, plant and fruit edge. A dry Fendant has the same quiet freshness, so the Chasselas matches the cheese without overpowering its smooth, supple paste.
Bottles to try:
Humagne Rouge is an old Valais red, full-bodied, with medium to firm tannin. That grip clears melted raclette fat from the palate between scrapings, and the wine's fruit stands next to the cheese's butter, cream and sour note.
Bottles to try:
Lafnetscha is an old Upper Valais white, medium in body with high acidity. Like Fendant at the raclette table, its dry freshness cuts the melted butter and cream of the cheese and keeps the palate clean between scrapings.
Bottles to try:
Swiss Wine Valais calls Dôle supple and easy-drinking, good company for charcuterie and hot melted cheese. Its Pinot Noir and Gamay fruit and gentle tannin suit a table where raclette comes with cured meats.
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Swiss Wine Valais describes Rèze as an alpine grape found only in Valais, with resinous, sappy notes and sometimes fir-bud flavours, and says it stands up to every cheese. Its sharp acidity lifts the milky, fresh paste of a young Schnittkäse.
Bottles to try:
Valais Syrah is full and dry with firm tannin. A firm red is the other way to meet raclette: its tannin scrubs the melted fat from the palate, and the rich, creamy cheese in turn softens the wine. Best with a riper, more intense wheel.
Bottles to try:
Dry Amigne, the native white of Vétroz, is round with moderate acidity. Its weight and fruit sit well beside the milky, fresh paste and sour note of a young Schnittkäse, without the sharpness that would strip the cheese.
Bottles to try:
Humagne Blanche is an old native Valais white, dry and medium-bodied with fresh acidity. It leaves a small, milky tomme in charge, and its freshness lifts the smooth, supple paste whether the cheese is runny or firmer.
Bottles to try:
A six-week tomme is milky and fresh with a smooth, supple paste. A dry, fresh Fendant, quiet in aroma and moderate in acidity, is the match that leaves the small mountain cheese in charge.
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Sweetened with honey, as Slow Food Switzerland says sérac is eaten in Valais, the mild, crumbly white curd suits an off-dry Amigne from Vétroz: the wine's sweetness answers the honey without burying the lean cheese.
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At least three months, in cellars kept at 7 to 14 °C, according to the product specification held in the Swiss AOP register. The Schnittkäse version needs only two months and the Hobelkäse twelve.
No. They are dairy and alp names stamped or embossed on the rim of a Raclette du Valais wheel, for example Bagnes 1 for the Verbier dairy or Orsieres for the Orsières dairy. They all fall under the same AOP and specification.
Swiss Wine Valais puts Fendant and Gamay at the head of the classic choices, with Heida for a stronger, more floral alpage raclette. Fendant refreshes the palate against the melted cheese.
It is a separate specification of the same AOP: extra-hard rather than semi-hard, matured at least 12 months rather than 3, with a shorter, flatter wheel of 4 to 6 cm and no smear rind. It is shaved, not melted.
The Raclette du Valais consortium suggests a robust Valais red such as Dôle or Pinot Noir, or a fruity Valais white such as Fendant or Johannisberg.
The specification gives a diameter of 29 to 32 cm, a height of 4 to 6 cm and a weight of 3.3 to 5 kg.
It is one of the two specifications of Raclette du Valais AOP: a semi-hard, full-fat raw-milk cheese sold as a cut cheese after as little as two months, in wheels of 29 to 32 cm and 4.3 to 5.8 kg.
Close to it. The consortium sells cheese made in alp dairies as Raclette du Valais AOP Alpkäse, in the same 29 to 32 cm wheel at 4.3 to 5.7 kg, matured at least two months when sold as a cut cheese and three when it is meant for raclette.
