“Do it right. Or don’t do it at all!”

Philipp Schwander lives up to his idea of being the “wine store with a twist”. Discover what motivated him to join forces with Victorinox...

Philipp Schwander
His passion: Really good wines.
His mission: Affordable treasures.

There are people who are clearly blessed from the very start, brimming with a full range of impressive talents. Philipp Schwander, proprietor of the Selection Schwander wine store with branches in Zurich and St. Gallen as well as being the first and, for 20 years, the only Swiss awarded the title of Master of Wine, is one of these people. He was born with a sensitive nose and an impeccable memory for tastes and flavors and blessed with a storyteller’s skills, and a gift for sharing his knowledge of wine in a most charming way.

He was the one who came up with the idea of a handy degustation tool for when you’re on the road and, in close collaboration with the Victorinox product development team, his idea was honed and perfected. The result? A true collector’s item with the functionalities of a corkscrew, a waiter’s knife and a knife for picnic snacks all rolled into one: The Wine Master is specially designed for cutting the foil and opening bottles in style, as well as slicing bread, cheese, salami & co. for a tasty outdoor snack. Superb handling, elegant design.

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Les produits Wine Master

Awarded
  • Wine Master Wood
  • Wine Master Wood

Wine Master Wood

Bois d’olivier
CHF 149.00 CHF 
  • Wine Master Wood
  • Wine Master Wood

Wine Master Wood

Bois de noyer
CHF 149.00 CHF 

“Selected wines from unknown vintners at excellent prices.”

Wine expert and businessman, journalist, filmmaker, castle owner, hotelier – and now a product developer as well. Philipp Schwander is truly multi-talented and a genuine connoisseur. He is living up to his idea of a “wine store with a twist” which in practical terms means: close personal contact with vintners and regular visits to their premises, a manageable product range and carefully selected wines at realistic prices. “My goal is to help my customers understand wine and to give them access to good quality products. It means I’m on the road around 140 days a year, I’ve been traveling since I was 18. I’ve been doing this over 30 years – so you get a sense for a well-made product, and if someone is good, or just bluffing.”

“Wine has been my hobby since I was 16 years old.”

Philipp Schwander inherited his love of wine, especially Bordeaux wine, from his father and also an old travel guide which led him to this region as a youngster, after buying an Interrail ticket on the spur of the moment. That was where it all started, and from then on, all his pocket money went into his hobby, with binder after binder stuffed full of labels and descriptions of the character of each wine. His intelligent articles in the Zurich newspaper caught the eye of Martell, the St. Gallen wine dealers, who hired him immediately. After many years as their head buyer, followed by a spell as director at Albert Reichmuth, the Zurich wine merchants, he took the plunge in 2003 and set up his own business. With 60,000 customers, Selection Schwander is now one of the biggest wine importers in Switzerland. 

“We focus on the grape, the basic ingredient.”

For me, interacting with the wine producers is really important, most people often assume that every vintner must also be a wine expert. But that’s only partially true, he has a deep understanding of his wine and how to make it, but he is often too close to his product. People who are always tasting their own wine often fail to recognize what is lacking in a wine. What’s more, it is quite common that a vintner isn’t aware of the needs of his local consumers. That is one reason why I get a lot of vintners to produce special editions based on my input, where we are the exclusive supplier. When we do this, we aren’t trying to take away the unique character of the wine, it’s more about tweaking it a little and making it better. I always ask myself what my customers really like and what I can offer them that best reflects their tastes and their idea of a good wine.”

“No fruit salad in the description of aromas!”

Awarded the title of Master of Wine, Philipp Schwander is one of only 280 experts worldwide currently holding this title. The most daunting test in the world lasts a whole week and candidates must undergo daily blind tastings where they must demonstrate their wine-tasting expertise. In addition, candidates face extremely complex written exams which require extensive knowledge and the ability to formulate and communicate independent thinking and theories. Only those who are true authorities on the subject have any chance of success. As a result, the failure rate is high and is almost always well above ninety percent. 

« Un outil parfait doit être agréable à manier. »

L’idée d’un outil de dégustation pratique spécialement conçu pour les activités de plein air naquit et prit forme dans l’esprit de notre ambassadeur en vins. « J’ai déjà eu tellement de tire-bouchons entre les mains, et je me suis dit, oui, ce produit n’est pas mal, mais on pourrait encore l’améliorer », confie M. Schwander. « Mais il me manquait surtout un très bon couteau pour préparer un délicieux pique-nique. On n’avait donc jamais vu un outil comme celui-ci, c’est le premier en son genre. » Avec le Wine Master, tous les détails, qu’il s’agisse du poids, de la taille et de la fonctionnalité, ont été conçus et exécutés avec précision ; chaque élément s’ouvre avec aisance et sans effort, et s’il est manié  
correctement, il peut être utilisé facilement et en toute sécurité. 

« Le Wine Master : multifonctionnel, design élégant. »

Fonctionnalité trois-en-un, finition haute qualité et confort d’utilisation :  emportez le Wine Master de Victorinox quand vous prenez la route. La longue spirale robuste a une bonne prise sur le bouchon, le coupe-capsules garantit une coupe précise et nette, tandis que le levier à deux temps empêche le glissement et assure que le bouchon soit retiré en toute sécurité. Et pour finir, un couteau à la lame extra large, qui peut couper vos aliments préférés pour un pique-nique, est la touche finale qui fait du Wine Master le parfait outil multifonction. On peut observer le raffinement du Wine Master dans le parfait équilibre entre le levier et le point d’appui, ainsi que dans la précision de l’assemblage, qui réduit l’effort requis au minimum. Les côtes aux finitions exquises sont confectionnées en bois d’olivier ou de noyer ; elles sont élégantes et offrent une prise en main confortable. Avec ses détails raffinés, le Wine Master est un objet exclusif qui plaira tout de suite aux amateurs de vin et deviendra un fidèle compagnon.