November 23, 2018 • 3

Meet the Winners of Battle Chasselas & Raclette 2018

Which Swiss city has the best Chasselas wine and Raclette cheese? On November 22, 2018, Lausanne à Table hosted its first-ever competition to answer this question. This event took place as part of Bô Noël, the city of Lausanne’s annual Christmas markets that continue through December 31. The candidates for the Battle Chasselas & Raclette 2018 consisted of four capital cities in Western Switzerland. Altogether, more than 500 people participated in this inaugural event. Read below to discover all the participants and winners!

For this culinary competition, the participating Swiss cities represented four French-speaking cantons: Genève (Genève), Neuchâtel (Neuchâtel), Lausanne (Vaud) and Sion (Valais). Sion may have faced some extra pressure for this competition, as Raclette has its origins in the canton of Valais. Also in Valais, Chasselas wine goes by a different moniker. Since 1966, the Fendant name has been protected for use only in the canton of Valais.

The Competitors…

The following are the winemakers and cheese-makers selected to participate on behalf of the four competing cities:

And the winners are…

Here are the Chasselas and Raclette winners of the jury prize, based on a blind taste-testing:

Chasselas: Neuchâtel – Le Charmeur, Neuchâtel AOC, Cave des Lauriers – Jungo & Fellmann
Raclette: Lausanne – Fromagerie les Moulins, Pierre Buchillier

And, these are the winners of the public vote made by those individuals who attended the event (not a blind taste-testing):

Chasselas: Sion – Fendant Soleil du Valais AOC, Maison Philippe Varone Vins
Raclette: Sion – Eddy Baillifard, Raclett’House

The four winners of Battle Chasselas & Raclette 2018. Photo credit: Digital Flow

Congratulations to all of this year’s selected participants and winners. And, thanks to Lausanne à Table for hosting yet another fun, creative and delicious event!

Save the date: As the winner of the public vote for its Chasselas and Raclette, Sion has agreed to host the Battle Chasselas & Raclette – La Revanche on Friday, April 19, 2019 during its annual Grand Marché de Pâques.