Vinea Tour Part 2

Cave Caloz visit with Tony Lecuroux MS and Alexandra Banhidi SVS

Our visit to Cave Caloz took place during VINEA Sierre, the Valais wine association and organiser of the annual wine festival. We travelled by local bus from Sierre to Miège, where we were received and guided through the estate by proprietor Sandrine Caloz herself under strong sunshine that again challenged the notion of Va

lais as a cool alpine region. These steep south-facing slopes above the Rhône receive intense light and reflected heat and are shaped by an extremely dry climate.

Walking through the vineyards overlooking the Rhône Valley, Sandrine explained the estate’s deep commitment to organic viticulture. Between the vine rows, Cave Caloz works with sown cover crops rather than bare soil. These plants stabilise the steep terraces against erosion, improve soil structure so rainfall infiltrates instead of running off, and feed soil life when worked back into the ground. In this particularly dry part of Valais, they also support better water management and create controlled competition that helps keep vine vigour and yields in balance. Rainfall here is minimal, making irrigation necessary at times to maintain equilibrium in the vineyards. The family’s practical approach to dealing with heat and drought has been shaped by earlier professional experience of the previous generation in Mediterranean climates, where managing water stress has long been central to vineyard work.

In the cellar, we tasted through the range beginning with the whites. The Petite Arvine showed clear citrus notes with lemon zest and grapefruit, carried by bright natural acidity and the distinctly saline finish that gives the wine freshness and length. The Païen (Heida) offered a calmer, broader profile with ripe orchard fruit expression and a dry, structured finish.

Among the reds, we tasted a Cornalin, expressing the variety’s characteristic balance between fruit intensity and freshness. We also had the opportunity to sample several wines directly from barrel,

offering an early glimpse into the upcoming vintages now resting in the cellar and

building anticipation for their release.

One of the estate’s personal cuvées is Selène 25, named after Sandrine’s daughter, reflecting the close family connection within the winery alongside its focus on classic Valais varieties such as Syrah and Humagne Rouge.

Across the range, the wines remain precise rather than heavy, shaped by organic vineyard work, careful water management and restrained cellar decisions adapted to the warming conditions of this part of Valais. The visit offered a grounded look at how these choices translate directly from vineyard to glass under the guidance of Sandrine Caloz.