Definition: Conservatoire Mondial du Chasselas

A conservatory to promote Chasselas around the world – A wine-growing heritage to be protected. The Foundation is based at Place d'Armes 2, 1096 Cully.

Source: Pierre-Emmanuel Buss – Le Temps newspaper – 26 August 2010

Louis-Philippe Bovard's project was launched on 25 August 2010. The first harvest is expected in 2013.

Promoting Chasselas, the historical heritage of Lavaux and Swiss viticulture. The idea had been on the mind of Louis-Philippe Bovard, owner and winemaker in Cully, for a long time. It came to fruition yesterday with the official launch of the Conservatoire Mondial du Chasselas, inspired by French centres dedicated to Pinot Noir and regional Alsatian plants.

The initiative, supported by CHF 30,000 from the Retraites Populaires vaudoises, aims to preserve and study 19 Chasselas clones in collaboration with Agroscope Changins and the Office vaudois de la viticulture. The plants are located on a 3,000 m² plot provided by Domaine Louis Bovard in the commune of Rivaz. Three hundred vines of the five most renowned clones in the canton of Vaud (Fendant Roux, Vert de la Côte, Giclet, Blanchette and Bois Rouges) were planted this spring. "They will be vinified separately after the first harvest in autumn 2013," says Louis-Philippe Bovard.

The Conservatory should eventually enable the diversification of Chasselas clones in the Vaud vineyards. This diversity is under threat: during the winter of 1956, polar cold destroyed a large proportion of the vineyards, forcing winegrowers to replant more generous and resistant selections. "Today, 90% of Chasselas is RAC 6, a clone developed at the time in Changins," estimates Louis-Philippe Bovard. "The objectives of the Conservatoire du Chasselas are to initiate research on grape varieties around the world, to enable testing of different varieties and to encourage winegrowers to diversify their crops and ensure high yields, good disease resistance and good sugar content," explains Louis-Philippe Bovard, who also created a foundation to promote Chasselas. The first harvest will take place in three years, with separate harvesting and vinification. Today, the focus is on greater diversity, particularly with less productive varieties.

Adapting to rising temperatures

The scientific dimension of the project will enable the characteristics of the different selections of the Chasselas variety, brought together for the first time in one place, to be studied. Communication will be important in order to encourage local winegrowers to incorporate new plants to add complexity to their wines. "Some selections are much more acidic than those used today," explains François Murisier, president of the Fondation du Conservatoire Mondial du Chasselas. "They may be better suited to the rising temperatures associated with climate change."

Chasselas is from Vaud

Keen investigators track down the origins of Chasselas

Searching for the origin of a grape variety is like conducting a police investigation where clues and red herrings constantly cross paths. But the real revolution linking the study of vines, criminology and paternity research is the use of genetic analysis.

Until recently, in order to identify a vine plant, ampelography could only observe the external characteristics of the plant: the shape of the leaves, the type of bunch, the colour of the grapes, etc. With the limitations we know. Thanks to molecular biology, it is now possible to look at what is inside the plant: its DNA, or genetic fingerprint.

The analysis involves taking DNA samples from very young leaves approximately one to two centimetres long, then revealing their unique genetic code. By combining this with historical data, it is now possible to pinpoint the origin of a grape variety more accurately.

Mission Chasselas

Trained in the DNA method developed at the University of California, Davis, Valais-based biologist and geneticist Dr José F. Vouillamoz returned to Switzerland and began working with his colleague Dr Claire Arnold on the genetic profiles of grape varieties grown in Switzerland. On this basis, the Vaud Wine Interprofessional Community and the Confrérie des Vignerons de Vevey commissioned them to conduct a historical and genetic study on the origin of Chasselas.

Between false leads and historical landmarks

The first mentions of Chasselas appear in the 16th and 17th centuries, first in Württemberg, Germany, then in Burgundy, France, and in the canton of Vaud. At the same time, it was attributed to a number of origins as distant as they were far-fetched, such as the Jordan Valley, the Fayoum Oasis in Egypt and even Constantinople.

The Vaud origin or historical confirmation of a centuries-old tradition

Dr. Vouillamoz's genetic study on the origin of Chasselas was completed in 2009. It was carried out in three phases (511, 317 and 132 grape varieties from Europe and the Near East) and debunked the most far-fetched hypotheses, such as those involving the Near East or Egypt.

• Although the parents of Chasselas remain unknown, as is often the case with very old grape varieties, 20 clonal varieties, all with the same DNA, have been identified.

• Chasselas has genetic affinities with most of the old grape varieties of the Alpine arc, such as Teroldego, Lagrein and Altesse, and gave rise to Mornen Noir. "Burgundy, where Chasselas was mentioned in 1612 under the names Fendans, Fendant or Lausannois, is located in the area of genetic affinity of Chasselas, particularly the village of the same name, which is very likely a place of transition for the grape variety."

• The name Lausannois or Luzannois "even more likely betrays the original provenance of Chasselas".

The most likely hypothesis is that Chasselas originated in the Lake Geneva region, most likely in the canton of Vaud.

Conclusion

This fascinating "detective" investigation ends with a twist of fate: the people of Vaud owe a Valais native the scientific proof that "their" Chasselas is an indigenous Vaud grape variety.

And the future

This study naturally motivates all the efforts of the Vaud vineyards in favour of Chasselas, whether in the vineyard, in the cellar or on the market.

As for the World Chasselas Conservatory, which was launched in spring 2010 with the planting of clones from collections in Pully, the Loire, Alsace and the Baden region, it is extending the effects of the study. Five Vaud clones, Bois Rouge, Fendant Roux, Giclet, Vert de La Côte and Blanchette du Chablais, have already been planted in sufficient quantities to enable microvinification by 2013. The aim is to find the best plants suited to the climate and soil. Proof that the love affair between the canton of Vaud and its favourite grape variety is far from over.

Françoise Zimmerli – Sources: Historical and genetic study of the origins of Chasselas, Dr J. F. Vouillamoz and Claire Arnold, University of Neuchâtel, NCCR Plant Survival.

See also "Mondial du Chasselas". Websites: