Last Days of Wine & Sunset

It seems as if Autumn has officially hit Switzerland. Trees are losing their leaves, women have substituted sandals for boots and people went back from bright colors to their usual black. But I won't admit it this easily - I'm sticking to my wedge shoes and colorful dresses as long as its above 20ºC!

This weekend was one of those weekends. And for me, any weekend with nice weather, is considered the perfect occasion to drive anywhere in the Lavaux region and enjoy the beautiful views while having a glass of wine with some friends. After all, many of these fantastic spots will close latest end of October, when the stylish wine terraces will be replaced by fondue and raclettes in traditional caverns.

This time we drove to Le Deck, in Chexbres - a restaurant and lounge bar with a huge terrace offering stunning views. Below Le Deck, you can see the vineyard of Daniel Rogivue et Fils, which tumbles down 180 meters until the village of Rivaz. To the west, you will eye Vevey and Montreux and to the east, all the small wine villages with Lausanne beyond. But the most impressive view of all is definitely the opposite shore of the lake: the French Alps.

Le Deck itself was packed with couples enjoying a romantic afternoon light (I admit it's probably one of the best places I've seen so far in this country). Service, on the other hand, was slow and a bit rude, but I guess that's what you have to get along with if you want to enjoy wine in a top place. It's only open during summer (for obvious reasons) - starting 1st of April until 31st of October, every day from 11am to 11:30pm.

Although Le Deck is open during the whole day, I strongly recommend to visit it during the late afternoon hours to enjoy the magical sunset. As the sun went down, photographers came out of all corners to capture this moment.

In case you're visiting the region between November and March, Le Deck belongs to Le Baron Tavernier - a small hotel and restaurant which are open the whole year long. Although the view from the restaurant is probably not as good as this one (since its next to the road), the rooms have a small balcony overlooking the whole region, which I'm sure is comparable to the one from Le Deck.