Zürich

Canton with the capital of the same name in the north-east of Switzerland. Viticulture was established here as early as the 9th century by the Benedictines on the Rhine island of Rheinau and developed into an important branch of the economy. At the end of the 19th century, more than 20,000 winegrowers cultivated 5,600 hectares of vines. Due to phylloxera, migration, industrialisation and urbanisation, there was an enormous decline. Today, the vineyards cover only 644 hectares of vines, which belong to the wine region of German-speaking Switzerland. Zurich is divided into five areas with over 90 municipalities.

In 2009, the Lake Zurich area was classified as an AOC. It covers three cantons, namely Zurich (with the municipalities of Au, Herrliberg, Küsnacht, Männedorf, Meilen, Stäfa, Uetikon am See, Wädenswil and Zurich), Schwyz (with Freienbach and Nuolen) and St. Gallen (with Rapperswil-Jona and Uznach). The other four areas are Limmattal & Säuliamt with Buchs, Oberengstringen, Oetwil, Otelfingen, Unterengstringen and Weiningen; Unterland & Rafzerfeld with Bülach, Eglisau, Embrach, Freienstein-Teufen, Kloten, Oberembrach, Rafz, Regensdorf, Weiach and Will, as well as the municipalities of Buchberg and Rüdlingen located in the canton Schaffhausen buchberg and Rüdlingen; Weinland between Winterthur and Schaffhausen with Andelfingen, Benken, Berg am Irchel, Laufen-Uhwiesen, Neftenbach, Oberstammheim, Ossingen, Rheinau, Trüllikon, Truttikon, Unterstammheim, Wiesendangen and Winterthur; and Oberland with Greifensee, Hirnwil, Maur and Uster. The large body of water exerts a positive, climate-regulating influence on viticulture.

About two-thirds of the grapes cultivated are red varieties. Pinot Mariafeld, a special clone of Pinot Noir (here Blauburgunder) widely grown in Switzerland, comes from the village of Stäfa on Lake Zurich; others are Gamaret, Garanoir and Dornfelder. The white wine varieties Riesling x Sylvaner (Müller-Thurgau), Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc are grown to a third. The very old variety Räuschling (also Zürirebe) is also increasingly cultivated again. Wädenswil on Lake Zurich is home to the famous Viticulture Institute, whose first director was Dr. Hermann Müller-Thurgau (1850-1927). About half of the production is done by winegrowers' cooperatives. Well-known producers are Bruppach, Landolt, Lüthi, Pircher, Rebhalde, Schwarzenbach, VOLG (Verband ostschweiz. landwirtsch. Genossenschaften), Staatskellerei Zürich and Zweifel.