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  • People in Valais have always drunk their wine uncut

People in Valais have always drunk their wine uncut

Hardly any amphores, very few beautiful vessels – in ancient times, people in Valais were happy to drink their wine from goblets imported from Italy. These delicate ceramic recipients appeared in the Upper Valais, at the archeological site of  Gamsen, near Brig. These are pieces produced between the 7th and 9th centuries BC.  Their small size provides an interesting detail: people in Valais drank their wine uncut – no water added. Local goblets

The oldest goblets on record in Valais come from communities north of the Pô plain in northern Italy. These people were unfamiliar with Greco-Etruscan habits, which called for wine cut with water to be drunk from chalices and cups. Later, during the final centuries BC, potters in Valais produced a series of goblets from local clay, with a special shape. As trade increased during the first century BC, communities in the valley imported, from the Pô plain, delicate ceramic lacquered black cups as well as bottles in the shape of spinning tops, the famous a trottola vases, wide at the bottom with a narrow neck.

Source: Histoire de la Vigne et du Vin en Valais, «Avant les Romains, les premiers services à vin», Philippe Curdy, archeologist.

Step into the memory of the Switzerland’s largest wine region! The information that you will find on these pages comes from the book "Histoire de la vigne et du vin en Valais, des origines à nos jours", a reference work that brings together the most recent scientific discoveries about the fine wines of Valais and their rich past.

Order the book

Musée du Vin - Rue Ste Catherine 6 - 3960 Sierre | tél. +41 27 456 35 25 | contact@museeduvin-valais.ch

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  • Home
  • Exhibitions and Trail
    • Permanent exhibition
    • Current exhibition
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    • Past exhibitions
  • Events
  • “Discovery” programme
  • Schools
  • The Museum
    • Presentation and mission
    • Collections
    • Historical
    • Organization
    • Infos pratiques
  • History of wine
    • From its origins to today
    • History of grape varieties
    • Did you know?
  • Support
  • Shop
  • Media
    • Documents for media
    • Archives
    • Press rewiew
  • Information