AmericanWinery.com

The Rhône River actually starts high in the Swiss Alps, tumbling down the mountains into Lake Geneva and then exiting the lake to begin its journey through France. The vineyards of the Rhône form one of France’s great wine regions, which follows the river for approximately 125 miles from just below Vienne in the north, to south of Avignon. The Rhône region has over 170,000 vineyard acres and breaks up into two distinct north and south portions. The northern part contains many great individual appellations like côte rôtie, Condrieu, château grillet, Saint-Joseph, and Hermitage. Many of these vineyards are planted on small steep terraces with breathtaking views of the Rhône River. The dominant grapes here are Syrah for red wines and Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier for whites. As one heads south, there is a gap in the vineyards around Montélimar and then the valley widens to form the southern portion. The most famous appellation in the south is Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Other well-known ACs are Gigondas, Lirac, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, and Tavel. Most of the vineyards in the southern Rhône produce wines covered by the ACs of Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône-Villages. In the southern Rhône, the principal red grape is Grenache, but others include Carignan, Counoise, Mourvèdre, Terret Noir, and Syrah. The white grapes used include Bourboulenc, Clairette, Marsanne, Muscardine, Picardan, Roussanne, and Piquepoul (or Picpoule). More blends of different grapes are used in the south than in the north.