A rising star on the Swiss wine scene, Valentina Andrei first discovered her love for viticulture and the vines during her childhood in Roumania, whilst harvesting in her family’s vineyards. Her mother owned a few plots of vines that had been in the family for generations. Now established at Saillon in the Valais region of Switzerland, she cultivates a mosaic of parcels totalling 4.3 hectares dispersed across 10 communes, from Martigny to Grimisuat. Her preferred grape varieties are Chasselas, Arvine, Païen, Roussanne, Gamay, Humagne, Cornalin and Syrah. Valentina lavishes love on her vines, tending them with the utmost respect and in the most natural way possible. Everything is done with her own hands, whether it is soil tilling, selecting the plants and flowers that will grow there, pruning, disbudding, trellising, leaf thinning, bunch selection, trimming or harvesting. An approach of the greatest authenticity and devotion, using tisanes, essential oils and silica, following the lunar calendar, but devoid of all dogmatism. Rigorous and precise, with her sights permanently set on excellence, Valentina Andrei is not afraid to do things differently. For her, it is above all a question of terroir. This leads her to seek the best possible correlation between soil and wines. She describes her wines as “terroir crus”, uses indigenous yeasts, works largely with parcel selections and ages her wines in old barrels. The wines are distinctive above all for their freshness, elegance, finesse and character. Qualities that she focusses on unwaveringly in her desire to evolve. She never forgets to mention her illustrious mentors, notably Marie-Thérèse Chappaz. In their six years together, this pioneer of biodynamics showed Valentina the importance of matching soil to the grape variety and the need for intransigence in tasting. And Jacques Granges of Domaine de Beudon instilled in her a profound respect for the earth. In 2018, the year she turned 35, Valentina was nominated “Espoir de l’Année” (Rookie of the year) by Gault & Millau. It was the year that this gifted young woman signed off her fourth vintage on the estate, producing a quality of wines that is now acclaimed well beyond the Swiss frontiers. Wine & Hospitality Projects is particularly proud to count Valentina Andrei amongst the producers that have entrusted us with their wines. We are delighted to propose to our customers some of her magnificent creations, such as Païen, Petite Arvine, Merlot de Champ Dury and Selena.
