Expo Vina 2012

Welcome to the wine ships!

Locals and expats alike look forward to the arrival of the wine ships. Zurich has hosted the wine expo for 59 years. The ships are lined up at the end of Lake Zurich and tethered together. Guests can walk from one to another.

Entrance is not free unless you arrive before 1:00 pm or if you are given free entrance tickets from a wine distributor. Books are given at the entrance listing all wines that will be available for tasting along with a layout of the ships and booth numbers of the distributors. There are a few restaurant ships to help with wine absorption. We started with food first, tasting some Swiss specialties.

grapes hanging for decoration

  

I had the ever traditional fondue - lots of precut bread provided. Sometimes fondue is served with a whole baguette and you must break it up yourself.

Another traditional dish is raclette. It tastes like grilled cheese without the bread. Here it is served with potatoes, onions, pickles and a slice of pineapple.

Even the napkins were pretty and theme appropriate.

Zweifel provided beverages at two of the Living in Zurich events I attended. With a little effort (going to their shop), they gave free entrance tickets. We also ordered some of their wine.

There were so many choices to taste! Wines from all over the world including Switzerland. Some of them are quite good and not readily available in the US.

Swiss wine

Some of the ships are very old which is evident here by the wood and brass interior.

Yes, we went twice. Too many  to taste in one day. Of course, we did not come close to tasting everything. We placed our orders and  some have already been delivered. We're set until next year!

I know some of you stateside would love this event. You can consider it when you choose when to visit. It's always in early November, but the weather isn't so beautiful then.