Wynn Las Vegas Magazine by MODERN LUXURY

Wynn Las Vegas - 2016 - Issue 3 - Winter

Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas

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the watchmakers draw their inspiration from the serenity of enchanting nature," he explains. "We oriented the watchmaking workshop to offer maximum natural lu m i nosit y a nd empha si zed t hat by i nclud i ng a completely glazed wall." He likens watchmaking to viticulture: "Just like a great wine, the terroir has its importance." It's a fitting compar- ison, given the little-known second industry that underpins the area's economy: wine. T he sa me cra f t smen who spent w i nters i n t hei r cot t ages working on watches earned money in the summer by cultivat- ing grapes on the area's steep slopes, and that ancient small-scale production persists. Watch Valley's vineyards rely on a cozy, cavelike tasting room, known in the local dialect as a carnotzet, to host visitors. You'll likely straddle a few rickety stools, with some barrels arranged as impromptu tables; the winemaker himself will probably lead any tastings and will welcome ques- tions about his work. The vibe here is refreshingly uncommercial and reminiscent of Napa in the 1970s; there is nothing prepack- aged or commodified about Watch Valley's wine trails. Chasselas is the reg ion's centuries-old varietal, more com- monly eaten as a table grape in France and elsewhere. For the Swiss, it's central to winemaking, constituting more than 60 percent of production in Vaud. Keith Wallace is the author of Corked & Forked: Four Seasons of Eats and Drinks and t rains sommeliers at his w ine school in Philadelphia; he's also a Sw iss w ine superfan. "Chasselas is the anti- Chardonnay," he says. "It's pretty, mineral, delicate, ethe- rea l , a nd w it h a del ic a t e, f a i r yl i ke body." It 's a l so a h a rdy, v igorou s pl a nt , well-suited to cope with the low levels of sunshine here—around 1,700 hours per year, at the bottom end of the amount required to successfully ripen g rapes. The resulting wine is bright and low in alcohol, perfect for pairing with cheesy fondues, among other things. Much of Switzerland's wine is white, but it also produces a fine red from t he gamaret vine, which is litt le know n out side t he country and barely four decades old. A hybrid developed in the 1970s specifically for local conditions (compare South Africa's pinotage), it's increasingly treated like Bordeaux, with a similar richness when aged. Like Pascal Raffy, Piaget's CEO, Philippe Léopold-Metzger, draws parallels between the two industries that thrive in pic- t u resque Wa t ch Va l ley: "Sw i ss wa t ches a nd w i ne have so many things in common—family roots, skills transmitted from one generat ion to anot her, and t hey're bot h businesses t hat even today remain very artisanal by nature." (Léopold-Metzger also always serves local wines to visitors to his company's head- quarters and workshop in the valley.) Perhaps it's Nicolas Joss, though, who best sums up the kinship between Switzerland's watches and wines. Joss runs the Office des Vins Vaudois, the trade organization for the canton. "Ever y where in the world, Sw iss-made is a sig n of qualit y," he says. "W hen you wear a Swiss watch, though, you don't tell all your friends, 'Look! I have a Swiss watch!' It's the same way for our wines. We are very proud, but very discreet." 39 "Swiss watches and wine are both businesses that even today remain very artisanal by nature."— philippe léopold-metzger The Piaget boutique on the Esplanade at Wynn Las Vegas. below: Piaget Polo S 42mm timepiece in steel with a gray dial, Piaget, Wynn Las Vegas, 702-330-3002.

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