Geneva’s seductive backside
For the past few years Genève Terroir has asked me to translate an information sheet and questions for their August Gourmand Rallye, an event that attracts 700 food and wine-loving hikers split over a Saturday and Sunday. Note: it’s fully booked almost immediately after ticket sales open, so get on their mailing list and sign up fast.
The idea is to introduce people to local products. From this year’s sheet: “The quality label and trademark Genève Région — Terre Avenir (GRTA), was established in 2004 by the Canton of Geneva, which owns and is custodian of it. GRTA makes it possible to identify agricultural products from the Geneva region. It covers all agricultural products at each stage of their transformation, from field to plate.”
It takes me hours to do the translation because I have to look up names of animals and birds or information about how rivers flow or crops I’ve never heard of or architectural and historical details. This year I finally asked if I could join the rally, thinking that at the very least I would have a 12 km hike through a part of the Swiss wine landscape I don’t know well, a triangle between the villages of Jussy, Meinier and Choulex.
The course is different each year but generally follows part of one of the canton’s official vineyard hikes. It turned out to be one of the best events of the year: fun, great exercise, terroir products discovered, well organized. Hat’s off, Genève Terroir/Geneva agriculture promotion office.
Here’s how the rally works:
The principle: a hike (11.9 km) along a trail that is not particularly difficult, meeting producers and their wines paired with foods, and discover the magnificent landscapes of our countryside.
Given that this is a rally, you’re asked to answer a questionnaire, throughout of the trail. You’ll find it at the end of this information packet.
The prizes that will be given to winners whose names are randomly drawn from among the questionnaires with all responses correct are: 1st prize … Don’t forget to turn in your questionnaires at the end of the trail.
Geneva is so much more than the city that is home to the UN and and an army of international organisations workers, consulates, banks and enormous statues of Protestant Reformers. The area beyond the centre that is known as Entre Arve et Lac faces the lake on its eastern side, with its back end shaded by Mont Blanc. The countryside is idyllic and the border with France is fluid in terms of culture and gastronomy. The French and Swiss Alps, Jura mountains and Lake Geneva, as it prepares to squeeze back into the banks of the Rhone, are often clearly visible. The canton’s official hike here is 18 km long, with 240 m of ascent and 190 m descent, an excellent half-day easy walk.
My takeaways from this year’s rally:
- The ruins of the Rouëlbeau chateau, Canton Geneva’s first registered building (1921) is considered one of the most important architectural sites in the region. It was built in 1318. After serving as a chateau it was turned into a prison — some say the site is haunted by a woman who long ago was rejected by her husband, the knight Humbert de Choley.
- The course cut through a beautiful 30 hectare park at the Lullier nature and environment professional training centre, which grew out of the French-speaking Switzerland Horticultural School, founded in 1887. It is home to Hepia, (higher education school of landscape engineering and agriculture).
- La Touvière is a fascinating relatively large collective organic farm which hosts musical events and sells its wide range of products at the farm shop. It’s a great place to visit goats! And volunteers who want to spend a day helping out are very welcome.
- You can take tours of the artisanal family brewery Brasserie des Murailles in Corsinge-Meinier and taste their good range of beers. My favourite: La Pieuse, an unfiltered high fermentation light yellow beer.
