Valais

French name for the canton of in western Switzerland; see there.

Switzerland 's third largest canton, with Sion as its capital. In 2007, scientists from the University of Basel discovered that vines were already cultivated here between 800 and 600 BC. Today, the vineyards stretch for over 50 kilometres from the German-speaking Upper Valais to the French-speaking Lower Valais along the Rhône at an altitude of 450 to 650 metres above sea level. Those of Visperterminen in the Upper Valais are even considerably higher at 1,100 metres. The Riebe vineyard there is the highest vineyard in Central Europe. The majority of the vineyards are located on the right bank of the Rhône, facing south from Martigny to Leuk. Smaller areas are located between Lake Geneva and the Rhône bend near Martigny. The vineyards on steep slopes, bordered by high walls, are mostly terraced, some of them as so-called "tablars" cut horizontally into the slope. Due to the extreme slope, some areas are among the steepest vineyards in Europe. Limestone, gneiss, slate and alluvial soils predominate.

Wallis - Weingärten bei Sitten

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Valais

Wallis

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