The Rhône Valley in France is overwhelmingly devoted to red wine production.
While the Rhône River is dotted with vineyards from its headwaters in Switzerland to its mouth on the French Mediterranean coast, the Rhône Valley properly refers to two clusters of appellations along the banks of the river in Southern France. The Northern Rhône, or Rhône septentrionale, occupies a narrow band of vineyards hugging the river just south of Beaujolais, from Vienne to Valence. The vineyards of the Southern Rhône, or Rhône méridionale, funnel outward south of Montélimar toward Avignon, near the river’s Mediterranean basin. While these two separate stretches are often considered collectively, the Northern and Southern Rhône are climatically and viticulturally distinct.
The Rhône Valley and its environs boast a long history of enological importance. The introduction of winemaking in France can be traced to the Greeks, who established vine cultivation at their Massalia settlement—modern-day Marseilles—in approximately 600 BCE. At the height of Greek trade, some 10 million liters of wine in amphorae were shipped through Massalia into the heart of Gaul via the Rhône River. The Romans continued this trend with their arrival in the Southern Rhône in 125 BCE, and viticulture spread to the Northern Rhône by the first century CE. The Northern Rhône’s picturesque, hallmark terraces were first constructed by Roman workers. Vienne evolved as an important Roman provincial capital, and the Viennese vinum picatum, or "pitched wine," was exported to Rome itself. Whether vinum picatum was simply a reference to the wine’s character resulting from its mode of transport
Hi Grace Jeoung, Cairanne was recently upgraded from Cotes-du-Rhone Village to its own appellation. It doesn't look like that has been updated on their website. I would encourage you to use those sites as a resource but be wary that they aren't always updated right away. We make every effort to make sure everything is updated immediately here for the community.
You are correct that Cremant and Clairette de Die are different, and Clairette de Die has 2 different styles of sparkling wine. Cremant de Die must abide by French cremant guidelines which state min. 9 months on the lees and a traditional (champagne) method of production, but doesn't need to be 100% Clairette.
Clairette de Die on the other hand may be 100% Clairette for traditional sparkling wines, and are muscat-based for Ancestrale style sparkling wines which is a different approach to sparkling winemaking entirely. You can check out our Champagne and Sparkling wine guide for an explanation in difference of sparkling styles.