Wine regions are traditionally defined by national borders and appellation systems. Alpina Vina takes a different view. The Alps form a coherent mountain landscape that crosses the boundaries of France, Switzerland and Italy — and within that landscape, a remarkable family of wines has evolved over centuries. Shaped by shared geology, climate, indigenous grape varieties and cultural traditions that predate modern nation states, these wines belong to a single category that has rarely been recognised as such. Alpina Vina exists to define it, document it and make it accessible.
Alpina Vina is the first transnational knowledge platform dedicated to Alpine wine culture, terroir and viticulture. It covers ten interconnected regions across the Alpine arc — from Savoie in France, through Valais, Chablais, Ticino and Bündner Herrschaft in Switzerland, to Valle d'Aosta, Alto Adige / Süd Tyrol, Trentino and Valtellina in Italy. Together these regions encompass approximately 26,000 hectares of mountain vineyards, over a hundred indigenous grape varieties, eight distinct linguistic traditions and a concentration of UNESCO World Heritage Sites found in no comparable wine region on earth.
The platform provides a range of reference resources: detailed regional profiles, a comprehensive Alpine grape glossary developed with the support of Dr José Vouillamoz — Swiss grape geneticist and co-author of Wine Grapes (Allen Lane, 2012) — regional maps, selected producer recommendations, documentary films and stockist information. It is designed to serve wine professionals, educators and enthusiasts equally, and is available in four languages.
Alpina Vina was co-founded by Jean-François Genoud based in Lausanne and Simon Hardy DipWSET based in London. It is an independent, editorially driven platform with no commercial relationships with the producers or regions it covers.