This week we are highlighting wines from the Rhone River Valley, the Rhone is separated into two distinct areas, the Northern Rhone and the Southern Rhone. Our video this week goes into a bit more depth with the Northern Rhone, so our blog will focus on the Southern end of the river valley.

Situated around the city of Avignon the Southern Rhone is truly the land of blends. Our Director of Wine, Luke, tends to call these wines "Heinz 57" because there are so many grapes allowed to go into the wines of the region, 21 to be exact! Reds dominate the area with Grenache being the most widely planted grape. Grenache does great in this part of France because Grenache can handle the hot days that the area is known for, often reaching well into the 90’s and even 100’s during the growing season!

Wines from the Southern Rhone range from the everyday wines of the Cotes-du-Rhone appellation, to wines that are the pinnacle of Grenache based blends in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. While these wines are typically made with similar, or even identical blends the thing that sets them apart is location! As is often the case in France location can dictate whether you are buying a $13 bottle of wine or a $130 bottle of wine. It all comes down to the Cru of the wine.

What is a Cru? Well Cru means something along the lines of "Growth", however in French wine it is often a way to differentiate wines, in Burgundy you have Premier and Grand Cru vineyards, in Bordeaux you have the First through Fifth Crus, in the Rhone individual villages of given Cru status. While the whole area is considered the Cote-du-Rhone these Crus can put their names, and sometimes unique seals, on the bottle. While the aforementioned Chateauneuf-du-Pape is the best known, and most prestigious, of these Crus others such as Vinsobres, Lirac or Gigondas can provide for truly high quality wines but without astronomical prices. The best part is they’ll pair with nearly anything!

The Rhone is truly a wonderful place to find high quality wines without some of the prices more common in Bordeaux, Burgundy or the US. But don’t just stop at reds, dabble into the whites too! Similar to the reds Southern Rhone whites are a blend of different grapes, what can set them apart is that they are weighty wines without the use of oak. The main grapes are called Marsanne, Roussane and Viognier, these wines show off a lot of stone fruit and floral notes and work great with something like pork tenderloin.

So if you find yourself needing to pick up something that can impress without breaking the bank look to the Rhone, the wines are sure to surprise and impress! This week’s tasting has two reds and a white from the Southern Rhone so be sure to stop into our downtown store on Friday from 4-6pm to give them a go!