Posted on 12 June 2021
Is there any better way to end the day on the ski slopes than with a glass of wine? Well, maybe, but spending your evenings drinking locally produced wine from Alpine vineyards is still pretty fantastic. When you’re considering the best places to buy a ski property, the presence of local vineyards can be a real plus.
When you’re driving through the Alps in winter, it’s easy not to realise what is actually growing on those Alpine terraces. How, you would be forgiven for asking yourself, can wine grow on the side of a mountain? During the summer months, you can tour the vineyards near Chambéry and taste the excellent selection of local wines at the source.
So, where’s the best place to buy a ski property if you’re after a resort with a few vineyards nearby?
The Three Valleys
The Three Valleys ski area is handily close to both Chambéry and Albertville, which are both Savoie winemaking hubs. Saint Martin de Belleville is closer to Chambéry, where you’ll find the excellent Mont Granier wines. Mont Granier’s vineyards are where you’ll find the Apremont and the Abymes wines.
Apremont is a dry wine, with a light, fresh profile that makes it a perfect match for charcuterie and cheese.
With Albertville acting as the other main centre of vineyards in the Savoie, the Three Valleys sit in the perfect place to enjoy a host of great local wines. The Three Valleys is widely considered one of the best places to buy a ski property, so one of Courchevel or Meribel was probably already on your list of places to consider.
The collection of high-end restaurants on the mountain and in the four main resorts that make up the Three Valleys all lean towards keeping at least one local option on the wine list. If you’re looking at buying a property here, you’ll be able to drink plenty of local wines.
Crans-Montana
The Canton Valais is probably the best known of the Swiss winemaking regions. Crans-Montana is only an 18-minute drive from Sierre, where you’ll find Switzerland’s wine museum. Named the Valais Wine and Wine Museum, it’s split into two parts. The first is at the Chateau de Villa, where you will learn the history of winemaking in the region, and taste several local wines.
The second part of the Museum is in a nearby town and focuses upon the local conditions and the variety of grapes growing in the region. The museum is on a popular wine trail, which means wine lovers have plenty of opportunities to taste local wines. When you’re a wine lover looking for the best places to buy a ski property, a well-known local wine trail is a good sign.
As the Canton Valais is a great Swiss winemaking region, there are vineyards near Verbier along the mountains above Martigny too. Local restaurants in both resorts will serve you great local wines, grown in the dry, sunny microclimate of the Valais.
La Clusaz
Near Chambéry, the home of Apremont, amongst other wines, La Clusaz is a resort that combines local vineyards with a short transfer from the airport and a good ski area. A short drive will take you touring vineyards during the summer months, and the lower altitude makes this a superb place to spend long, hot summer days.
The Mont Granier vineyards make wine using the white Jacquère grape, which is unknown outside of the Savoie and gives the wine its’ distinctive taste. If you’re looking for the best places to buy a ski property, La Clusaz unique position and microclimate make it a great choice for weekend wine lovers.
La Clusaz is also relatively close to the pretty, winemaking village of Chignin, which is home to the light, dry Chignin white wine, and the Mondeuse red wine. A quick day trip to the beautiful village will give you a chance to taste superb wines and walk the spectacular countryside.
Val d’Isere
Tignes and Val d’Isere are both located near to the Combe de Savioe, which runs between the Chambéry valley and Albertville. The Combe de Savoie is debatably a more serious wine region than Mont Granier. The area is home to the Chignin, the fuller-bodied white Chignin Bergeron, and the Mondeuse.
The Savoie Mondeuse grape is similar in flavour profile to a Syrah, and it’s sold regularly in local restaurants and supermarkets alike. Val d’Isere is a little further away from the vineyards themselves. It is, however, a hugely popular French ski resort with spectacular fine dining options, many of which specialise in local produce and wines.
The wide variety of Savoie wines means that wine lovers can choose almost any French Haute-Savoie ski resort and find themselves presented with a good selection of wine from local vineyards. As Val d’Isere is one of the best places to buy a ski property in the French Alps, with or without local vineyards, the presence of local Savoyarde wines is yet another feather in the resort’s cap.
Flims-Waldhaus
Not usually thought of as a winemaking region, Canton Graubunden is nevertheless home to local vineyards specialising in primarily white Riesling-Sylvaner wines, known locally as Müller-Thurgau. The village of Malans, only a half-hour from Flims-Waldhaus, is considered the birthplace of this local dry white wine.
The village of Malans is also a superb place to taste some of the local pinot noir red wines. Wine lovers looking for Swiss ski property will be able to try a host of excellent local Swiss wines, with their distinctive flavours. Films is one of the best places to buy a ski property in Switzerland already, due to the comparatively looser regulations in place, but the vineyards are a great perk.
Alpine wines are quite tricky to get your hands on outside of the local region, especially those coming from Switzerland. If you love the distinct flavour profile you’ll find from Alpine grapes, though, buying in a resort where you’ll find plenty of local wine to wet your whistle is always a good idea.
Whichever resorts make your list of the best places to buy a ski property, be it in France or Switzerland, take a look at our selection of ski property for sale. If you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line!