Opening hours

Open from March to November

Wednesday to Friday: 2 PM – 6 PM

Saturday and Sunday: 11 AM – 6 PM

Contact

Wine Museum – Sierre
027 456 35 25

Wine Museum – Salgesch
027 456 45 25

Did you know ?

New mothers drank up to one litre of warm wine a day

Childbirth wine is designed to help calm pain, strengthen the body, clean the uterus and rebuild blood. Humagne Blanc is the wine most often mentioned. This choice is possibly linked to the grape variety’s reputation for having three times as much iron as other grapes (a belief proven to be false by recent chemical analyses). Humagne is also a wine for important special occasions, known for its quality and ability to age well.

Warm and spicy

Childbirth wine is given in different forms. It is often taken as a warm wine with spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, honey) and aromatic herbs (hysop, herbes aromatiques (hyssop, mugwort), or as a panade (a soup with toast) for a period of one to four weeks around childbirth. The woman may drink up to one litre a day.

The custom of offering wine to women giving birth is documented from 1528 on, in Valais. Keep in mind that until the mid-20th century wine is considered an efficient remedy and a restorative.

Sourced from
PONT Samuel, « La coupe et le vin de l’accouchée » in Histoire de la Vigne et du Vin en Valais : des origines à nos jours, Sierre-Salgesch, Musée valaisan de la Vigne et du Vin, Gollion, Infolio, 2009.