Lavaux, Switzerland

The Swiss know that nothing accompanies views of far-off peaks better than a glass of wine from the UNESCO-listed Lavaux area, where vertical vineyards clamber the slopes above Lac Léman, writes Caroline Bishop

Switzerland certainly isn't shy about stepping forward when it comes to its great outdoors. Its cow-strewn meadows, 4,000m-high peaks and glacier-fed lakes dominate the many tourist brochures, but there's one feature that still comes as a surprise to many visitors: its vineyards.

There are six wine-growing regions in the country, with around 2,500 winemakers producing 100 million litres of wine annually. But since only about 1% of this wine is exported, it remains little known outside the country, leaving the Swiss to - rather happily-drink most of it themselves. It's no surprise that Switzerland was named the world's fourth-largest wine consumer per capita in 2021.

One of the oldest wine-growing areas in the country is Lavaux, in the region of Vaud. It spans a 30km stretch of vineyards and occupies the slopes above Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) between Lausanne and Montreux. Formed by the retreat of the Rhône glacier 15,000 years ago, this land is so steep that it was once considered unusable, until canny Cistercian monks decided to build terraces to shore up the soil in the 12th century.

The best view of the area is from a ferry on the water. From there you can trace the undulating stone walls that run roughly parallel to the lakeshore; these follow the landscape like contour lines on a map, with row upon row of vines occupying the spaces between them. Tiny, red-roofed villages and wineries are dotted throughout. It's a fine example of man and nature working in harmony - a sentiment echoed by UNESCO when it inscribed Lavaux onto its World Heritage List in 2007. Its official description praised the area's 'centuries-long interaction between people and their environment. The reality is so much more captivating in person.