white grape · regional staple
Chasselas
Lake Geneva, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland
Say it
sha·suh·lah
French origin; stress on final syllable; the -as cluster is not nasalized
On the palate
green applepearlemonelderfloweralmondflint
How you spot it blind: nonaromatic profile that acts as a mirror for terroir rather than varietal fruit
The story
First written down · 1654, France (name in print; grape grown in Vaud under other names since at least the 16th century)
2009 DNA analysis confirmed Lake Geneva as the variety's origin, overturning older theories attributing it to Near Eastern or Egyptian stock.
Where it lives
Switzerland — Vaud (Lavaux, La Côte, Chablais), Valais (sold as Fendant), Geneva (sold as Perlan) · Germany — Baden (sold as Gutedel) · France — Alsace, Loire (Pouilly-sur-Loire), Savoie
Shows up as
still whitepétillant
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Also answers to Cortino, Fendant.
Shop our Chasselas bottles