The Rhône Valley

There are two distinct parts to the Rhône Valley. One is the Northern Rhône and the other is the Southern Rhône which is found conveniently below the former.

The Northern Rhône is the home of the Syrah and Viognier grape varieties which produce full-bodied powerful wines and in the case of Syrah, potentially long-lived reds. Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, Cornas, St.Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage all bear witness to the majesty of Syrah in all its seductive depth.

The Southern Rhône is home to a more varied vinous palette with Grenache providing the red focus. The supporting cast is impressive with Cinsault, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Counoise providing the reds and Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier for whites. The vast majority of the production comes from the Côtes du Rhône and its superior wines from the Côtes du Rhône Villages such as Vinsobres, Rasteau, Cairanne etc., with perhaps the best known being Vacqueyras which acquired Appellation Contrôlée status in 1990. The Côtes du Rhône Villages wines come only from the Southern Rhône departments. Gigondas is Grenache country and the best wines are made in the main from this variety which produced from low yields produces long-lived, big-boned and well-structured wines. The jewel in the crown is Châteauneuf du Pape renowned for its long-lived reds and heady whites of some class.

The Food and Wine Bit

The wines of the Rhône offer such scope to the food lover that it would be folly to try to narrow it down to this with this or that with that. Put simply, try the heavier, spicier wines with game and red meat in the Winter and in Summer get the barbie out and grill some sea fish to go with the whites and salads. Barbie still going? Then why not have some braised peppers and some charcuterie with a fruity light red. It is not difficult to match food and wine, simply open the bottle, pour a glass, get into the kitchen where it’s nice and cool and watch some other poor soul slave under the hot sun over a hot barbecue while you tell them what to cook.

Warning : Many accidents occur during the Summer as people try to balance plate and glass and talk at the same time. This is dangerous. Don’t do this as you end up spilling wine.

We run wine tastings with themes based on a particular wine region or country. I give a brief outline of the featured region along with my tasting notes and special offers, based around the wines covered.

You can see the current themes and offers on this page. For previous regions covered go to the Wine Club page.

• About the Wine Club
• Membership

For those of you that are lucky enough to live near Tasting Central in Mauroux you will be able to attend our regular tastings the schedule for which will be posted in February.

February sees the wines of the Loire Valley being honoured which will then be featured as one of the selections for April/May. A feature of the club will be detailed tasting notes for the selection from the featured area, grape variety or wine style. The first club tasting will be held on the 17th March 2007; numbers are limited to 15 people per tasting so please book early.