Cyril Ray writes :
Holidaymakers who have enjoyed the very good local wines in Switzerland have not usually been able to pursue the acquaintance at home : the story used to be that Swiss wines did not 'travel.' Present-day methods of shipping in bulk seem to have changed all that, and Swiss wine is now being bottled over here.
Quality for quality, white wines are dearer than red, and so at about ten shillings a bottle the London-bottled Swiss whites are good value. (Because of our extra duty on wine imported in bottle, the estate-bottled are too dear to com- pete with the German wines, which are prettier; and the red Dole, though good, is priced out of its class.) The Fendant and the Johannisberg Riesling should be about 9s. 6d. and 10s. 6d. respectively. They are crisp, fresh and drier than the German rieslings, and would go well with shellfish. I also like the Neuchatel very much, at 9s. 6d.; it has that slight prickle on the tongue that would class it as spritzig in Germany, or petillant in France. It would seem to be an ad- mirable choice for a summer-evening party, or for those who, like me, enjoy a fresh white wine as an aperitive.
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