Côtes du Rhône is a regional appellation in the Rhône Valley in eastern France. It applies to red, rosé and white wines, and includes more than 170 villages. The area follows the course of the Rhône southward for 125 miles (200 km) from Saint-Cyr-sur-le-Rhône to Avignon. A small portion of the wines in the appellation are white wines.
However, the classic Côtes du Rhône wine is a blend of Fruity, medium-weight reds made from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. The Côtes du Rhône appellation was introduced in November 1937. Its purpose was to give a general title to good quality Rhone wines from the lesser known and less prestigious wine producing areas of the valley. Côtes du Rhône The landscape of the Côtes du Rhône.
Marsanne is a white grape variety that originated in Montélimar in the Drôme, several centuries ago. Marsanne is also found in Cassis, Savoie, Languedoc-Roussillon and Saint-Péray in the Ardèche, where it produces remarkable sparkling wines. The warm, sunny climate of the Rhone Valley, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence, as well as the dry, stony soil, are ideal conditions for its development. Its bunches are quite large and provide small, juicy berries that are sensitive to grey rot and strong winds. These two grape varieties complement each other perfectly: together they give light wines with little acidity, aromas of yellow fruit, white fruit and flowers with notes of honey and liquorice. This is for example what the appellations Saint-Péray, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, Côtes-du-Vallée du Rhône, Corbières, or Cassis express... which represent about 700 hectares.
white wines from the region of Rhône septentrional go well with generally quite well with dishes of pork, rich fish (salmon, tuna etc) or mature and hard cheese such as recipes of summer orecchiette, steamed ginger fish (china) or chard with meat and mustard.
