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The foreign ministry has teamed up with the Society of Swiss Wine Exporters to encourage the serving of Swiss wine at embassy functions, as part of a new policy to promote the drink abroad.

Diplomats will be able to order from a wide selection of labels from all of Switzerland’s wine regions, with the ministry footing the bill in advance.

Swiss wines have generated polite interest abroad over the years, but high costs and poor marketing have kept them off the international market. This might be about to change due to a glowing review in the influential Robert Parker Wine Advocate.

This is not the first time that Swiss wine has received the plaudits of internationally renowned critics. But as prominent expert Hugh Johnson pointed out 30 years ago, the evidence of its quality rarely gets beyond Swiss frontiers since most of it is consumed at origin.

For a successful pairing between wines and dishes, it is best to combine similar aromatic nuances. But we should bear in mind that a vintage is less flexible than a dish, where you can always add an ingredient to get the perfect balance.

Swiss wines are oenological treasures. Although our national production is limited, it relies on great expertise in terms of viticulture and viniculture. The result? A whole series of fantastic vintages that are unique in their genre.

I Iove the look I get when I  mention to people here in Australia that we import Swiss wines....” do the Swiss actually makes wines” they say, well yes they do & normally my stock standard answer is that there 4 good reasons why- they are called Italy, Germany, Austria & France, so why should the Swiss miss out because they are surrounded by these great wine growing countries?

Lavaux is a picturesque wine-growing region in Switzerland. It is a perfect summer holiday destination, studded with postcard-perfect medieval towns and breathtaking views over Lake Geneva.

If wine was once a domain jealously guarded by men, this is no longer true today. In fact, more and more women work in winegrowing, or simply enjoy the juice of the trellis. And it is worth pointing out that they have a different relationship to wine from men.

Drinking wine outdoors is a special experience, particularly in a garden where you can wander freely. For once, the relaxed atmosphere takes precedence over the normally serious business of wine tasting. 

Let's be clear from the start: there is no way to tell the difference between organic and "normal" wines from the taste. Although organic wines only make up a small percentage of overall production, they are getting better than ever and are now widely recognised by consumers.

Often overshadowed by red and white wines, rosé wines deserve a better reputation. Chandra Kurt has just tasted around 100 of them, in her efforts to understand current Swiss production.