Merlot Clémence Geneva AOC The Cellar of Geneva

The eventful and rich history of La Cave de Genève begins at the end of the First World War. In 1929, some winemakers from the Arve et Lac region founded a cooperative. It was called La Cave de la Souche and united around 50 members. From this group also emerged the first Swiss Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC). From 1933, the cooperative was called La Cave de Mandement. In 1948, Vin Union began its operations. Its activities included all oenological tasks, product design, and sales. By 1970, the company processed nearly 80 percent of the entire Geneva production. The main business was converting grapes into wine and selling it. The cooperative receives the grapes immediately after harvest for pressing. Since 2007, Cave de Genève SA has been located in Satigny, the largest wine-growing community in Switzerland. In search of a Geneva winery, the Barrique line la Clémence absolutely thrilled us. The name la Clémence, by the way, is derived from the 6238-kilogram bell in the Cathedral of St. Pierre, which has protected the people of Geneva from demons and other evils since 1407.