The Rhone Valley is a key wine-producing region in Southeastern France. It follows the North-south course of the Rhône for nearly 240 km, from Lyon to the Rhône delta (Bouches-du-Rhône), near the Mediterranean coast. The Length of the valley means that Rhône wines are the product of a wide variety of soil types and mesoclimates. The viticultural areas of the region cover such a distance that there is a widely accepted division between its northern and southern parts.
They are separated quite clearly by a 40 km gap between the towns of Valance and Montélimar, where vines are hardly ever grown. This division is reflected not only in the geography and preferred Grape varieties, but also in the quality and quantity of the wines produced. The smaller, more quality-oriented north focuses almost entirely on Syrah for red wines and Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne for whites, while the larger, more prolific south employs a much longer list of grape varieties. Most notable are the red varieties Grenache and Mourvèdre, which are combined with Syrah to produce the "GSM" blend so characteristic of the southern Rhône.
Grenache noir is a grape variety that originated in Spain. It produces a variety of grape specially used for the elaboration of wine. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by medium to large bunches, and grapes of medium size. Grenache noir can be found in many vineyards: South West, Cognac, Bordeaux, Provence & Corsica, Languedoc & Roussillon, Rhone Valley, Loire Valley, Savoie & Bugey, Beaujolais.
red wines from the region of Rhone Valley go well with generally quite well with dishes of lamb, pork or poultry such as recipes of thiebou yappe from senegal (rice with lamb), veal cutlets with savoy tomme or chicken massala.
On the nose in the region of Rhone Valley often reveals types of flavors of cream, tar or iron and sometimes also flavors of red currant, cigar box or bay leaf. In the mouth in the region of Rhone Valley is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.
I’m busy, lazy or just tired… it’s half past twelve. I open the fridge and the same familiar labels smile up at me. The same with the repurposed coal hole under the front steps where the red wines live. I won’t tell you exactly what they are – although regular readers can have a pretty good guess. The ones that get mentioned least frequently are the ones that make an appearance on every routine day. When the soup (winter) or the salad (summer) comes out for a ‘working’ lunch, the bottle be ...
You don’t need a state-of-the-art winery to make wine. You don’t need rows of pristine oak barrels. One thing you do need to make good wine is good vines. Have you ever asked yourself where all these vines come from? How do they find their way into the ground? It used to be easy. In the past, winemakers simply took cuttings from their vineyards, propagated them, and planted them in the ground. But phylloxera put a stop to that. What was a simple process acquired layers of complexity: winemakers ...
Decanter attended Tesco’s spring/summer 2022 portfolio tasting at the end of April where over 140 wines were on show, 38 of which are new to the range. In anticipation of the full list of top buys, to follow soon, we’ve rounded up a few of our favourites to get you in the mood for spring. Tesco’s wine buying team highlighted 24 wines as their must-try buys, and five of these have featured in our initial spring roundup below. We think they showcase the diversity of the Tesco range and the value t ...
