The Fête des Vignerons is to the Swiss as big as hosting the Olympics. And it happens five times less frequently! A maximum of four times a century! Quite why this should be is not entirely clear. To some, me included, the words Swiss and Wine when placed together still form something of an oxymoron. But I'm assured that Swiss wine is on the up, and we have had some good blauburgunder from Maienfeld and obviously good Italian style wines from Ticino. A friend messaged me to say that we were staying amid the vineyards of Lavaux and that these had an illustrious history dating back to the introduction of the vine by Burgundian monks six centuries ago.
The Jura seem to roll on for ever but eventually we skirted Lausanne and found the hotel Lavaux, a modern, slightly soulless but thermally efficient box on the road and railway at Épesses, just two stops from Vevey. Joining our friend Marina we relaxed and then walked along the lake to Cully, where we enjoyed a very average and poorly served meal at the Café de la Poste. The local Chasselas was good however. In fairness the very hot weather meant that the lakeside villages were heaving with people. After handing over lots of Chuffs (ChF) we walked home and made ready for Vevey on the Monday.
A new receptionist in the morning informed us that we could have free travel to Vevey and armed with the passes we took one of the most scenic commutes in the world - Épesses - Rivaz - St Saphorin - Vevey. Sadly a Monday morning in Vevey is not the most exciting day at the Fête. After assessing the myriad fast food outlets, a few rides for children, and some cows sitting in a tent we decided to take a two hour paddle steamer trip around the Eastern part of the lake. After a galette we headed back to Épesses for a swim. Evening found us back in Vevey for a good meal (bottle of St Saphorin) at the Hotel Astra just by the station. At 9.30pm we were on the lakeside promenade to see the nightly parade. Illuminated figures, bunches of grapes, birds, and fireworks. At last there was some festival atmosphere.
Ominously the forecast for the Tuesday suggested that the mercury might hit 38degC. A croissant and snack in Vevey station Co-op and we were off to the Arena. 'Bon Spectacle' said the gentleman checking my ticket. We climbed to the top of the stadium and like everybody else took our seats in the full sun.
I think the event is meant to celebrate the story of the vine but there are numerous other themes. For some reason there were dancing horses, herds of goats, gymnastics, and lots of fish. I suppose they have to fill two and a half hours somehow.
When I had searched the internet I had been hugely impressed by what I took to be a vocal group called Ranz des Vaches. I now realise that there is no such group. The Ranz des Vaches is a series of fairly simple but beautiful songs, either played on the alphorn or sung. They were meant to call the cattle home in rank or ranz order. Even Rossini got into the spirit and composed one in the William Tell overture. These traditional tunes produced such an emotional effect on the Swiss that in times past it was forbidden to play them in case Swiss soldiers deserted or just laid down their arms out of overwhelming homesickness.
After two hours of ceremony with some okay music and a lot of marching it ws time for the massed alphorns and the Ranz des Vaches, the most memorable of which is the Ranz Fribourgeois. Although not strictly a yodel (I don't know what a strict yodel is) the vocal range was high, a beautiful falsetto sound. Accompanied by the parade of the cows with the sonorous dissonance of their bells this was undoubtedly the highlight.
So - a must see event if you're Swiss. If you missed out on an Olympic opening ceremony and you'd like to see extra cows, more alphorns than you'll ever see again, and yodelling, then the Fête des Vignerons is for you.
