Martigny is the main town of the Martigny district in the central Valais. It occupies a position at the corner of the L-shaped valley and has thus become known as Le Coude (the elbow) of the Valais. From a good vantage point above the town one has a clear line of sight down both arms of the valley – for 20 miles (32km) north towards Lake Geneva and twice as far east, almost to Leuk.
The town has its own Martigny appellation, producing mostly varietal wines from Chasselas, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris for whites and Pinot Noir, Gamay, Cornalin, Humagne Rouge and Syrah for reds.
The hillsides above Martigny are steep and require terracing to make viticulture practicable. A good example of this is to be found along the south-western side of the town, on the Sommet des Vignes. Here, a densely planted blanket of vines covers the slopes, broken and terraced only by a single steep road snaking its way down into the valley. The vines are also covered by the Ravyre appellation and stretch all the way to Martigny-Combe. (© Proprietary Content, Wine-Searcher.)
The Swiss wine industry lacked a formalized appellation system until the late 1980s, but now a comprehensive structure is in place. In the nation's three official languages, the classification is variously entitled Appellation d'Origine Controlle (AOC), Geographische Ursprungbezeichnung (GUB) and Denominazione d'Origine Controllata (DOC). The different names and corresponding acronyms are evidence of Switzerland's multi-lingualism.
As Switzerland continues to pursue and develop export markets for its wines – for a long time sold only through domestic channels – Swiss wine from appellations such as Martigny will become more readily available and more widely recognized.
