The Vaud wine country is divided into four main areas. La Côte stretches out in the western part of the basin of the Lake of Geneva between Morges and Nyon. The Lavaux region, extending from Lausanne to Vevey-Montreux, encompasses the canton's most famous vineyard, the Dézaley. Its terraces cling to the abrupt slopes between Epesses and St Saphorin, which overhang the Lake. The Chablais stretches out on the right bank of the Rhône between Villeneuve and Bex. The north of the Vaud region brings together the terms of origin of Bonvillars, Côtes de l'Orbe and Vully on the banks of the Lake of Neuchâtel.

With a quarter of the Swiss wines produced in Vaud, it is the second wine-producing region of Switzerland. Above all distinguishes itself by its fresh and fruity white wines from the Chasselas grape, whose refinement and multiple flavours reflect the great diversity of the region's soils. Red wines from the Gamay and the Pinot Noir varieties represent about a quarter of the production.

Vaud's long tradition of wine-producing dates back to the Dézaley's vineyards cultivated from the Middle Age onward by Cistercian monks. The famous Fête des Vignerons, a popular and ritual show celebrated only once every 25 years, is the most authentic expression of Vaud's deeply rooted wine-tradition.

Vaud's climate is strongly influenced by the lakes, which create particularly favourable conditions for the cultivation of vineyards.

The combined forces of glaciers, rivers and mountains have produced a prodigious diversity of soils in the canton of Vaud. This enormous variety is reflected in the great number of subtle nuances in the bouquets of Vaud's Chasselas wines.