Artisan of the land,
the heritage of a family tradition
Cave Caloz is a family run winery that was established three generations ago and whose wine production guarantees the health and nourishment of the land, whilst benevolently using natural and human resources. The grapes, which are harvested by hand and vinified in our cellar, produce vintages that bring joy and meaning to our profession.
The winery was founded by Fernand, who built both the cellar and the family house in 1960. Fernand managed the business for 27 years before his eldest son, Conrad, along with his wife, Anne-Carole, took over the running of the business in 1987. In the 1990’s, a portion of their vineyards was certified organic followed by their entire estate from 2017.
In 2019 the Cave Caloz winery was designated ‘Vigneron BioSuisse de l’année (Organic Swiss Winemaker of the Year) which was the crowning achievement for those years of effort.
Sandrine, the eldest of the four Caloz daughters, joined her parents in the running of the business in 2013 after having obtained her degree in oenology and viticulture.
Skimming over the Rhone valley and on its right bank, with a sumptuous view of the Bois de Finges, the seven hectares of vines rub shoulders with the flowers, thickets, birds and insects that thrive between the rows of vines. In addition, in spring and autumn, a herd of fifty sheep graze there between the vines and the jujube trees, at ease at the foot of the drystone walls.
Our vineyards stretch from the Bernunes region (590m) to that of the Verbes above the village of Miège at an altitude of 800 m, between the channels of the Raspille and Signièze rivers.
Our land is made up of a mixture of glacial deposits (moraines) and gigantic landslides. It is an amalgam of calcosol (soils containing large quantities of limestone) and peyrosol (very stony soils with more than 60% pebbles or stones) which gives us a light and shallow soil that warms up quickly and transfers minerals, freshness and a typicality to the different grape varieties that are subservient to it.
Each vintage is a new challenge, both in the vineyard and in the wine cellar. An exciting new opportunity to express through the wine what we have experienced together throughout the year.
I met Sandrine Caloz in Miège, Valais, last summer during the Fête de Vignerons, which only takes place every
25-30 years. She gave me a white wine from her production that was so excellent that I decided to meet her
again later that year. In November, she presented her wines as one of the most hopeful newcomers during the
Swiss wine tasting in the Schiffbaudamm, and in December, she showed me four more wines, of which the
orange-colored 2017 Muscat Leïla (which is only bottled in magnums as a present for her eponymous daughter,
who was born that year) was one of my favorite wines in 2019. Among all the new and young producers I met last
year, Sandrine is the most exciting discovery. Her handcrafted, now organic wines are authentic and pretty
natural without being too freaky. Cave Caloz should get a place on every wine lover‘s watch list.
Stephen Rheinhardt
for The Robert Parker Wine Advocate 2019
Our distributor in the United States:
ROSENTHAL WINE MERCHANT
Their vision of our company and description
of the wines of the 2018 vintage.
Our work, as seen and commented on by
DENNIS LAPUYADE on his site
artisanswiss.com
Here‘s the link to the fantastic article by
VICTORIA JAMES, the author of “Wine
Girl: The Trials and Triumphs of America’s
Youngest Sommelier”
Here’s the link to an article about us on
THE NEW YORK TIMES wine blog