Switzerland has a long tradition in wine production. Today almost 15,000 ha of grapevine are planted for wine production. 42 % are planted with white varieties and 58 % with red ones (BOSS 2014). Until the end of the nineteenth century the cantons Vaud, Ticino and Zurich produced the largest amount of wine in Switzerland SCHLEGEL 1973). After the invasion of phylloxera (Dactulosphaira vitifoliae), downy and powdery mildew (Plasmopara viticola and Erysiphe necator) in the late 19th century and the development of the wine market, Swiss viticulture evolved from self-consuming production to commercial wine production which is organized in wine-marketing areas. In that context, the most important vine-growing cantons became Valais and Vaud related to their climatic conditions and extension possibilities. In the Valais, for example, the viticulture area grew from 1000 to 5000 ha between the end of the 19th century and 1970. Today, Valais, Vaud and Geneva are the most important wine-growing areas of Switzerland in terms of planted area (BOSS 2014). Since 1900 Switzerland is maintaining germplasm collections for cereals and later also for berries, fruits and vegetables. The Swiss grapevine national collection of Agroscope Pully (VD) started in the 1920s and is today an international reference for varieties grown under alpine conditions. Since 1999 also privately maintained grapevine collections belong to the national network, related to the Action Plan for the Conservation of Genetic Resources (KLEIJER et al. 2012) in the frame of the Second Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (www.fao.org). All available data related to the collections are registered in a central free accessible database (www.bdn.ch). In the following sections we report on four main grapevine germplasm collections (Figure) which are partially supported by the Swiss National Action Plan.