The vines

This estate which is located on the shores of the Lake of Neuchâtel, currently markets the produce of about 60 hectares of grapevines. Although the Auvernier Castle Cellars actually possess only 16 hectares of grapevines, they cultivate an additional 24 hectares and buy the harvest of 20 hectares more from vine growers with whom their ties, in some cases, go back several generations.

The light to medium chalky soils, in places with barely 40 to 50 cm of topsoil overlaying the bedrock, can be very generous, providing the grapevine with two to three metres of undersoil. Geologically similar to the Burgundy soil, although situated a little further south, it benefits from the proximity of the lake, which regulates the temperatures, thereby offsetting the additional 100 metres or so in relation to its French counterpart.