RHÔNE VALLEY

WINE FROM THE RHÔNE VALLEY

The vineyards of the Rhone Valley are divided into two: the Rhone Valley North and the Rhone Valley South. It extends on either side of the Rhône, from Vienna in the north to Avignon in the south for 250km. This is the second vineyard in France in terms of volume of production of AOC wines, after Bordeaux. The area of the vineyard is about 70,000 ha and more than 80% of the area and volumes are concentrated in the southern Rhône. The share of organic wines is quite large, accounting for 10% of the area.

WINE FROM THE RHÔNE VALLEY NORTH

Also known as the northern vineyard, the Rhône Valley North is bounded from Vienne to Valence on 4,700 hectares. The soil is based on granite soils in hillsides and terraces with little room left for the vines. However, the sunshine and temperate climate are conducive to the cultivation of Syrah. This grape variety makes the particularity of Côtes-du-Rhône, often powerful wines with a good aging potential and spicy. For the whites, the Marsanne, the Roussanne as well as the Viognier are part of the game. There are 8 appellations in this territory: Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, Château-Grillet, Saint-Péray and Cornas.

SOUTH RHÔNE VALLEY WINE

The southern vineyard covers 71,000 hectares from Avignon to Montélimar and constitutes most of this wine region. The Southern Rhone Valley has a rather Mediterranean climate with strong sunshine counterbalanced by the mistral. This has a strong influence on the vines of the region since it prevents them from developing more diseases during wet periods for example, on the contrary summer it is also the trigger and/ or aggravating of fires. The terroir is rich and varied, on hilly soils and plateaus. This allows a large number of grape varieties and consequently, appellations to flourish in the region (the best known remaining Châteauneuf-du-Pape).