Enquire
Terraced vineyards running down to the lake with a stone house among the vines

Family wine estate since 1874

Ullage

Terraced wines from the steep slope above Lake Geneva. Tastings, harvest days and the cellar, by appointment.

Plan a visit

01 / The estate

We farm eleven hectares of stone terraces between the lake and the forest. Every bottle we make starts on this one slope, and we still pick every grape by hand.

11ha
of terraced vines
412
dry-stone terraces
5
generations of Varenne
38 000
bottles a year

02 / The wines

Six wines, one slope

No blends from bought grapes and no shop. Each wine comes from a named parcel. Ask us and we set bottles aside for you.

All wines

Bare winter vines in rows on a hillside
Small green grape bunches among young leaves
Rows of green vines seen from above
Golden backlit grape bunch on the vine
A picker carrying a crate of grapes through the vineyard
Rows of oak barrels in a dim cellar

03 / The year on the slope

A year in six fills

  1. 01 January

    Pruning

    Two buds per cane. Joris walks every terrace with secateurs and a thermos, and the vines decide next year's yield.

  2. 02 April

    Budburst

    The first leaves open on the warm lower terraces a week before the top ones. Frost nights mean we sleep in the vines.

  3. 03 June

    Flowering

    Ten quiet days that set the size of the harvest. We stay off the slope and let the bees work.

  4. 04 August

    Veraison

    The berries soften and colour. We thin the bunches by hand so the vine feeds fewer, better grapes.

  5. 05 September

    Harvest

    Twenty-two days, forty pickers, every crate carried up the terraces on shoulders. Friends of the estate join us on harvest days.

  6. 06 November

    Cellar

    The new wine rests on its lees in old oak and stone vats. We taste every barrel each Friday until spring.

Rain
64 mm
Sun
72 h
Must
0 °Oe

04 / The parcels

Five parcels, five wines of place

The slope drops 140 metres in less than a kilometre. Each step changes the soil, the wind and the light, so we bottle the parcels apart.

Lake GenevaForest
01Les Bas46.4902 N 6.7461 E 385 mLake gravel1968 02La Corniche46.4911 N 6.7472 E 420 mLimestone scree1952 03Le Mur46.4917 N 6.7486 E 455 mClay over moraine1931 04Champ Rouge46.4926 N 6.7494 E 485 mRed marl1999 05Sous-Bois46.4934 N 6.7503 E 515 mSandstone2014
Two glasses of wine being poured outdoors in the vineyard

05 / Visit

Taste it where it grows

Three ways to visit. Every tasting is hosted by one of us, never more than ten guests, and always ends in the cellar.

  • Cellar door45 min · CHF 25 per person

    Four current wines at the old press table, with bread and cheese from the village. No booking needed on open days.

  • Terrace walk2 h · CHF 65 per person

    A walk up through the five parcels with Joris, a glass at each step, then the cellar. Good shoes, please.

  • The library3 h · CHF 140 per person

    Older vintages from the family library, opened by Helene at the long table. For six to ten guests, on request.

Plan a visit

06 / Harvest days

Pick with us for a day

Every September we open four harvest days to friends of the estate. This is how one runs.

  1. 07:00Coffee at the press house, secateurs and gloves for everyone.
  2. 07:30Picking on the parcel of the day, crates carried to the road.
  3. 10:30Break on the terrace: bread, cheese, last year's rose.
  4. 13:00Long lunch under the walnut tree with the whole team.
  5. 15:00The sorting table and the press, the must still sweet.
  6. 17:00A bottle to take home, labelled with your name.
Ask for a harvest day
Hands picking dark grapes into a crate
A winemaker working between oak barrels in the cellar

07 / The family

My great-great-grandfather built the first terrace wall by hand. We still rebuild one every winter. The wine is just what the slope gives back.
Helene Varenne, Winemaker, fifth generation

08 / Coming up

Dinners, harvest days and open cellars

Events

  • 14Mar 2027

    Dinner

    Pruning supper

    Four courses by the fire in the press house, each with a wine from the parcel we pruned that week.

    24 seats · CHF 120

  • 22May 2027

    Open cellar

    Caves ouvertes

    The whole village opens its cellars for one weekend. We pour every current wine and three from the library.

    Open seats · Free

  • 19Jun 2027

    Walk

    Flowering walk

    An evening walk up the terraces while the vines flower, ending with a glass at the top of Sous-Bois.

    16 seats · CHF 45

09 / Journal

Notes from the slope

All stories
Vineyard rows at dusk with warm light over the hills

Come up the slope

Tell us when you would like to visit, which wines you are curious about, or how many bottles to set aside. We answer within two days.

Enquire