📍 Mandement

Mandement is the largest wine zone of the Swiss canton of Geneva. It lies on the right bank of the Rhône, west of the city of Geneva, on the French border. It includes three appellations named after communes: Satigny, Dardagny and Russin. Mandement is part of the Geneva wine region.

The Swiss designation here is protected (PDO). Geneva was the first canton, from the late 1980s, to introduce a French-style appellation system, in which every locality has its own name and rules.

The main grapes are the white Chasselas and the reds Gamay and Pinot Noir. Chasselas gives light, fresh wines with a delicate aroma, while reds from Gamay and Pinot Noir can be soft and fruity; they are often blended together. The soils formed from glacial deposits.

Mandement lies next to French Savoie. For people in Geneva these are the vineyards closest to the city, and the wine is drunk mostly in Switzerland itself, with little exported. For comparison: across Switzerland vineyards cover about 15,000 hectares, and the country's most common grapes are the red Pinot Noir (about 30%) and the white Chasselas (about 27%).