The Bündner Herrschaft wine region

The Bündner Herrschaft is the largest and best-known wine-growing region in Canton Graubunden. The region’s sunny location, frequent warm winds (föhn) and porous soil provide perfect conditions for grapes to thrive. First-class wines have been made here for centuries.

This area offers:

• wine tasting at numerous Torkels (cellars) throughout the region including the famous Blauburgunder (Pinot Noir).
• ancient ruins and historically significant buildings.
• quiet medieval villages surrounded by vineyards and orchards, perfect for walking through.
• idyllic forest paths
• the small historical Älplibahn twin cable cars rises to 1800 metres above sea level for hiking through alpine meadows & mountain peaks.
• hike across the many vineyard parcels.
• sweeping views of vines and mountains.
• restaurant or vineyard terraces with views across the wide Rhein Basin.
• picnic spots, plenty of benches and BBQ areas.
• the oldest documented winery in Europe at Schloss Salenegg. Wines were pressed here as early as 1068.
• Heidi’s house from Joanna Spyri books

My Experience

I visited this region in early July which seemed to be a perfect time. At this time of year, the vines are heavy with bright green leaves and small bunches of tiny grapes soak up the hot summer sun. Colourful roses are all around, and the meadows are full of wildflowers. Sounds like I am about to break into a song, but that is what it was like.

I decided to walk some of the Weinwanderweg (Wine walking trail) which passes through vineyards and villages, to learn about the process of making wine in this region. Clear information panels are available along the trail explaining the whole process from Spring to Winter; from planting the first vines to replacing the old ones. There were people working hard in the fields and the small tractors, specially designed to move between the vines, were busily doing their thing while I walked.

I found the whole experience including the views, smells and of course taste of the wine the perfect day trip for a break from the everyday. It felt a little bit like I had travelled deep into the vineyards of the Mediterranean, rather than a few kilometres off the main north/south motorway from Zürich to southern Switzerland.

Getting around and eating outdoors

• Getting There and Away
• Some Ideas for Eating El Fresco
• What is close by

Fastest connection by train and bus – sbb.ch:

Zürich – Maienfeld, changing at Sargans — 1 hour 5 mins

Zürich – Malans, changing at Landquart to bus 22 — 1 hour 14 mins

Lucerne- Maienfeld, 2 hours via Zürich HB.

Bus 22 operates between Landquart and Maienfeld:

From Landquart train station arriving across the road from Malan’s train station in 5-7 mins. *From here is easy to take off into the countryside for a morning, afternoon or day of exploring.)

Stops include Älplibahn cable car & Jenin.

Driving from:

Zürich – Maienfeld, takes approx. 1 hour 15mins – 100 km

Lucerne – Maienfeld, takes approx. 1 hour 30 mins – 124 km, via Lake Zürich

Chur – Maienfeld, takes 15 mins, 20 km

Lanquart – Maienfeld, takes 5 min – 5 km

Walking from:

Landquart – Malans, 2km – 30 mins.

Landquart – Jenins, via Malans, 5 km – 1 hour

Maienfeld – Jenins, 2.7 km – 40 mins.

Maienfeld – Malans, via Jenins, 6 km – 1 hour 15 mins

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This region offers some lovely restaurants, inns and wineries with terraces to take in the lovely scenery and fresh county air. There are also plenty of places available if you wish to prepare your own food or having a takeaway or picnic.

Find a Bench – These can be found almost anywhere. I found several alongside the walking tracks – often in the shade of trees or hedges and also dotted around the paths that run between the parcels of vines. Some even have the name of the vineyard carved on them.

Have a BBQ – Various BBQ spots with excellent facilities like grills, wood and tables can be found around this area (see map below).

Sit on a Restaurant Terrace – There are a lot of well-positioned terraces that face towards the great expanse of vines and Rhein Valley beyond. A couple I found in Jenins are close together – Alter Torkel which has an up-market style of food, and the Landgasthof zur Bündte. This hotel with restaurant has been in the same family for 5 generations (back to 1888).

• Bad Ragaz – is a spa town across the Rhein in canton St. Gallen. This town straddles the impressive Tamina River which roars its way into the Tamina Gorge – there is a shaded walk alongside the Tamina river to the narrow gorge which is lit up to show off its impressive curves and cliffs. Bad Ragaz is also the place to take the Pizolbahnen (cable car) up to a popular walk – the 5 Lake Walk at the top of Pizol mountain.
• Landquart Outlet Village – Outlet stores in a pretty village setting with over 160 brands.
• Chur – The main town and main transport hub of Graubünden. Chur has a lovely enclosed old-town.
• Fläsch – This is the most northern wine-growing town of the Bündner Herrschaft region. It has won the Wakker Prize 2010 for good town planning that preserved the orchards and vinyards within the towns boundries. Worth checking out because: There are 14 self-pressing viticulture companies in Fläsch. For more information go to their website.
• To find out more about the incredibly diverse Graubünden region go to my canton Graubünden page.

My Walk Through The Vineyards – from Malans to Maienfeld

This area is spread out like a patchwork quilt on the gentle slopes above the Rhein plains. The north/south highway and railway line run directly alongside a straight section of the Rhein giving easy access to the area. The main towns are Landquart and Maienfeld with smaller towns like Malans also on the rail line. Buses connect the higher wine-growing villages and some small cable cars to train stations.

This was a decent 2-hour walk but it is just as easy to do smaller sections around the villages or try out many other trails that criss-cross the region.

Some impressions of the area from Malans to Jenins

The Village of Jenins

Jenins has narrow lanes with historical buildings, elegant mansions and old wooden houses clustering together, giving the village a cosy feel. Every now and the narrow streets and lanes lead to small squares with fountains. Grape vines seem to be growing everywhere; covering fences and crawling up houses as well as filling green spaces in and around the village.

According to Jenins’ website, this town has always had a policy of protecting its heritage, which includes the buildings, businesses and land, ensuring that modern buildings could not, for the most part, be built within the town, or onto the cultivated land around it – leaving the wineries in the area untouched for hundreds of years.

The locals seemed to support this leading to the avoidance of any building booms and also ensured that family-run business stayed within the families. The vineyards (around 44 hectares) are firmly in private hands, while the pasture areas belong to the municipality. 

Alpine farming

The traditional Swiss method of using the high altitude meadows, is of great importance in Jenins: In summer the cows climb up to the 2,373 meter high summit of the Vilan in search of tasty grasses and herbs. 

Contacting the winemakers in Jenins

These Jenins vineyards and cellars can be visits by appointment or have opening times. Another option is to check out the wine festivals – all information is on the websites. This is just a small example of what is available in the region.

House of Graubünden Wine, Old Torkel

Around 70 wine producers belong to the Graubünden Wine Association. The association has a presentation room attached to the Old Torkel Restaurant which sits above the vines on the edge of Jenins.

You can come here for tastings, information about the wines of the region and to book public guided tours of the vineyards.

Recent information on the Heidiland tourism website states: It is possible to do a 90-minute tour through the vines followed by a tasting, without reservation every Friday at 4.30 pm from April to October. Contact the House of Graubünden Wines, Jeninserstrasse 3, 7307 Jenins, Phone +41 (0)81 302 87 08, Email [email protected]

History and Heidi

Maienfeld, 502m, the «third city on the Rhine», lies at the foot of the striking Falknis, on the east side of the Rhine valley. The fact that Maienfeld, with 2500 inhabitants, can call itself a city dates back to city rights granted in the 15th century. At that time, Maienfeld stood at the intersection of historic military and transit roads on the Rhine valley and Walensee route. The old town with its impressive mansions and Salenegg and Brandis Castles today rates as a cultural asset of national importance.

In addition to wine and the international horse races in, October, Maienfeld owes its fame to Heidi, the figure from the world-famous children’s story by Johanna Spyri, published in 1880/1881 and translated into over 50 languages. Most of the story is set in the hamlet of Oberrofels, directly above Maienfeld. Today a Heidi Path leads from Maienfeld into a reproduced Heidi village, where a small living museum has been opened in the original Heidi house. There is also a hike called the “Heidi Trail” that goes up to Heidi Alp at 1111m, then back to Maienfeld via Vadella – Jenins.