Domaine Bovy

A Lavaux wine estate with a veranda for private events

Domaine Bovy is a wine estate at Rue du Bourg de Plaît 15 in Chexbres, in the Lavaux wine region above Lake Geneva. Its private event page names weddings first among the occasions it hosts: "Pour vos célébrations, mariages, fêtes et autres, appréciez le panorama et le confort d'une véranda pouvant recevoir jusqu'à cinquante personnes associées au plaisir d'un cadre bucolique." In English: for your celebrations, weddings, parties and more, enjoy the panorama and the comfort of a veranda that can host up to fifty people, together with the pleasure of a rural setting. The booking section repeats the limit in figures: maximum 50 people.

The estate's own description of the view runs from the terrace to the garden, with the fading outline of the Alps and the glitter of Lake Léman. Its wine-growing house is easy to recognize: the façade carries paintings signed Maurice Bovy.

The 2 private event packages

The page publishes 2 all-inclusive packages for private events, with prices per person.

Up to 5 hours, CHF 40 per person, minimum CHF 1,000. Up to 7 hours, CHF 60 per person, minimum CHF 1,500.

Both include the same things:

• privatization of the estate
• all of the estate's wines drunk on site, as much as guests like, except the 3 top cuvées Chorus, Optimus and Reverentia
• still and sparkling water and artisanal syrups
• children up to 16 free

What is not included, in both cases, is billed separately by the caterer: the menu, coffee and tea, and the caterer's staff costs, setup and restoring the premises afterwards. The page introduces the packages by saying the estate has selected quality caterers and built these all-inclusive packages so that meals and aperitifs can be organized without worry.

For budgeting from abroad, the structure is simple to read. The estate's charge covers the venue and an open wine bar for the length of the event; the food, and the people who serve it, come on top from the caterer. A dinner for a full veranda of 50 guests over 7 hours starts from the estate's side at CHF 60 per adult, and the caterer's quote is the second half of the budget.

Catering and the rules around it

The page links a list of caterers ("Liste des traiteurs") and states that the caterer must be present for the entire event. Couples choose their caterer from the estate's selection rather than self-catering. The estate also works regularly with the caterer La Gamme L, which runs its Thursday tapas evenings from April to December and its themed Thursday evenings from October to December, as well as its brunches with live DJs; the page does not say whether La Gamme L is on the list for private events, so couples should check the list itself.

On request, the estate can add a cellar visit to a private event, except during the grape harvest. For wine-minded guests, that is a natural part of an afternoon at a Lavaux estate.

Dates and hours

The page sets out the opening for private events clearly:

• every day from 10:00 to 00:00
• from April to December, no private events on Thursday evenings (the Thursday tapas and themed evenings take place then), on Saturday lunchtimes, or during the harvest period
• an annual closure over the year-end holidays

So a Saturday evening wedding is possible, a Saturday lunch is not, and the harvest period is closed; the page does not give harvest dates, so couples planning an autumn wedding should ask which weeks are blocked. Midnight is the latest end time, which frames the party: couples booking the 7-hour package for an evening celebration should count back from the close when planning the start.

More than a venue for the day

The estate's site shows a busy house beyond private events: tastings, aperitifs, vertical tastings of past vintages, an offer called La Capite, open-cellar days (Caves Ouvertes Vaudoises), a wine-therapy spa and an online shop that delivers the estate's wines to the door. For a wedding party, that gives guests something to do the day before or after, and the online shop is an easy way to order the wine served at the wedding for the couple's own cellar afterwards.

Getting there

The page gives driving directions: coming from Lausanne or Vevey, take the Chexbres exit, follow the road through Chexbres toward Vevey, and at the bottom of the village turn right toward Rivaz. The estate's building is the second house on the left going down, recognizable by the Maurice Bovy paintings on its façade. A map can be downloaded as a PDF. The page says nothing about parking, public transport or accommodation, so couples with guests flying in should plan transport and hotels themselves and ask about parking and access for a minibus.

Language and booking

The site is in French. It does not say whether the estate or its caterers work in English, so couples who do not speak French should ask in their first message. Bookings start with the reservation request form on the page ("Demande de réservation"), and the estate's practical information and general terms are linked from the same page.

What the page does not settle

The page does not describe the veranda in detail: its layout, whether it can be closed against bad weather, or how a seated dinner for 50 fits. It does not say whether a ceremony can be held in the garden or on the terrace, and it names no registry office or celebrant. It does not mention music or dancing, decoration, or whether a DJ can play until midnight. The caterers' prices are not published on the page. And while the packages include the estate's wines, they do not mention sparkling wine for a toast or spirits, so couples who want either should ask.

Who it suits

Domaine Bovy suits couples planning a wedding of up to 50 guests who want a Lavaux wine estate, a view of the lake and the Alps, and a clear, published price for the venue and the wine. The all-you-can-drink house wine makes the budget predictable on the drinks side. The caveats are the hard cap of 50, the need to book a caterer from the estate's list at extra cost, closed Thursday evenings and Saturday lunchtimes, and a French-only website.