The Roh family has its origins in Alsace having crossed the mountains into the Swiss Valais during the 17th century. They settled in the town of Conthey which eventually in 1862 was split into two communes: Conthey and its neighbor, Vétroz. It is in the latter village that the Roh family and its cave are located, essentially in the heart of the Valais.
Serge Roh’s father, Marc, began to vinify the grapes from his own vineyard parcels in 1950 and progressively added additional plots of land over the years. The domaine now encompasses ten hectare of vineyards. Serge joined his father in 1984 after having studied at the cantonal school of agriculture and at the prestigious school of oenology at Changins. Serge Roh took complete responsibility for the domaine, known as the Cave Les Ruinettes, in 1999. His wife, Patricia, works by his side handling all the administrative tasks for this distinctly family affair.
The Roh family has assembled an impressive selection of vineyards and cepages, almost all of which are situated within the confines of Vétroz and Conthey. Their ten hectares include four white and five red grape varieties which allows them to offer one of the most complete lineups of traditional wines of the Valais and which are particularly representative of the Vetroz appellation. The white grapes are planted on the steep hillsides, most of which are formed into terraces, with a full south exposure. The soil is composed of schist and glacial moraine. All work is done by hand since the extreme slopes of this magnificent valley do not permit any mechanization. The red grapes are cultivated in a zone slightly lower in altitude where the soil is infused with round stones known as “galets” which have been rent smooth by years of alluvial action. The bulk of the vineyards are quite old, with the average age of the vines being 35 years (as of 2011).
Farming
Lutte Raisonnée
Treatments
Synthetic treatments when necessary
Ploughing
Annual hoeing of terraced vineyards. Annual ploughing of vineyards on plain
Soils
Granitic alpine moraines and black schists
Vines
Vines on slopes are head trained and staked, planted at 8,000-10,000 vines/ha and averaging 35 years old. Vines on plain are trained in Cordon de Royat
Yields
Controlled by avoiding fertilization, severe winter pruning, debudding, and green harvesting
Harvest
Entirely manual, beginning in mid-September and ending in December or January for sweet wines
Sourcing
Entirely estate fruit
Fermentation
Wines ferment with selected yeasts in stainless-steel tanks. Red wines are completely destemmed. Cuvaison lasts 10-15 days
Extraction
Red wines see punchdowns and pumpovers during cuvaison, depending on the vintage. White wins see bâtonnage only to counter reduction
Chaptalization
None
Pressing
Pneumatic, whole-cluster direct pressing for whites, pneumatic pressing for reds
Malolactic Fermentation
Occurs spontaneously following alcoholic fermentation in red wines, sometimes occurs spontaneously following alcoholic fermentation in white wines
Élevage
Wines spend 6 months in stainless-steel tanks
lees
Wines racked off their lees after 1-2 months of élevage
Fining and Filtration
Unfined, diatomaceous earth and cartridge filtration
Sulfur
Applied only at harvest, c. 35 mg/l free sulfur
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