My husband grew up in Switzerland but let’s be honest, the Swiss Alps are tres cold in winter so we stay in sunny Arizona for the holidays. But thanks to the power of great wine and food he was able to travel home during the holidays through a dinner of Swiss wine and fondue.
In our house, Jack is the cheese lover and I’m the wine lover. So I put him in charge of the fondue and I went to my wine fridge to find the perfect bottle to take us back to the Valais.
Swiss Wines
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Swiss wines (and with only 5% leaving the country, most people aren’t), the area he lived, the Valais, is the largest wine production area in Switzerland. When we lived together there during the Summer of 2021 our apartment literally sat in the middle of vineyards. And I’ll admit that when he worked late, I’d often take a walk through the vines to a winery for an apero of Chasselas or Petite Arvine.
For this dinner, I wanted to bring that memory back through the wine and chose a bottle of Petite Arvine from Chateau Constellation, a winery I visited in 2023. It’s one of the largest Swiss wineries, and its wines are available in select East Coast cities on this side of the pond. With its medium to high acidity, I felt it would cut through the fat of the fondue. Being full-bodied, it also wouldn’t be weighed down by the fondue.
Arguably the best white wine grape in Switzerland, Petite Arvine brims with notes of grapefruit, rhubarb, lemon and florals. On the first sip you’ll taste citrus and honey. It finishes with a zingy minerality and saltiness that I find a perfect foil for the fondue.
Traditional Fondue
Speaking of that fondue, according to my husband there is only ONE recipe that is real fondue and it’s called moite-moite. The secret is in the mix of cheeses- Gruyere and Vacherin-Fribourg.
Jack was born in Fribourg and I’m sure he’s eaten his weight in this cheese. But it’s a tough one to find in the U.S. outside of California and New York. We had some a friend brought from Switzerland, but if you can’t find it from your cheesemonger French Comte is a close substitute.
If this story has whet your appetite for Switzerland, travel there tonight with a perfect winter meal of fondue and Swiss wine. If you can’t find Petite Arvine, Total Wine has a more readily available Johannisberg
Moite-Moite Fondue Recipe from Swiss Tourism
Ingredients: | |
1 clove of garlic, peeled and sliced into two | |
400 g. Gruyère AOP, grated | |
400 g. Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP cut into thin slices | |
3½ dl white wine | |
4 teaspoons of cornflour | |
1 teaspoon of lemon juice | |
1 small glass of kirsch | |
1 pinch of cayenne pepper |
1. Rub the fondue pot with the clove of garlic.2. Mix the Gruyère AOP and the cornflour, add the white wine and lemon juice, then bring to the boil whilst stirring continuously.3. Reduce the heat, add the Vacherin Fribourgeois AOP and mix well until it melts. Pour in the kirsch and season with the pepper. The fondue must not be cooked too much, but simply kept warm on the burner.