Not much is known to this day about the origins of vine growing in Valais. But since the Valais Vine and Wine Museum has started its research, the information has been flowing.

Research shows that the vine culture dates back to approximately 4000 B.C. It would have started in south west Anatolie, at the source of the Tigre and the Euphrate, north of the Fertile Croissant, an area considered to be the birthplace of agriculture. It would have taken centuries to get to us, through the Greeks and then the Romans who contributed greatly to help it spread.

The first traces of vine in Valais date back to before the Romans, showing that, contrary to what was believed for a long time, that vines and wine were not brought to us by them. Grape seeds dating back to the Iron Age (between 800 and 500 B.C.) were found in Upper Valais, in the Gamsen area near Brig. But were they from wild or cultivated vines? Research being carried out on the evidence found in Gamsen should tell us more in the years to come.

The researchers believe, on the other hand, that the wine growing culture in its self existed during the Roman Empire. We also know, thanks to a ceramic bottle found near Sembrancher in a Celtic tomb, that the inhabitants of Valais gave wine to the dead 150 years before Christ. We can therefore deduce that they also drank it while they were alive.

Recent historical research has confirmed the presence of organised vineyards already in the 7^th Century. But at the same time, it dispossessed the clergy (monks and abbeys) of the exclusive rights to the matter. This finding was possible thanks to numerous public and private archives. Notary deeds were full of information, especially gratitude, by which the ‘tenants' of that time thanked the Lord for their land. Above all, these archives showed the importance of vines and wine during the end of the Middle Age. While 6300 pages have been analysed, 3700 references to vines and wine have been found. Researchers have also noticed that, while the vineyards that were recognised for their quality were already being exploited, vines were also being planted in more surprising places, notably in the lateral valleys.

The documentation is richer since the end of the Middle Ages. Written evidence refer to a vineyard which stretches from Brig to St. Maurice which gets denser as it goes down the Rhône. Certain documents mention vine varieties which could well be indigenous which are today the gems of our wine culture. The evidence also shows that the wine from Valais has been ‘exported' to other parts of Switzerland since the 18^th Century.

The progress of the research in relation to the history of vines and wine in Valais can be followed on the website http://www.histoireduvin.ch/.