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
Camilo,
It depends on how you look at it. Classically we have said that there are thirteen varieties. However, AOC law actually states 18 different varieties (as we have listed above). But several of those varieties, like Grenache Gris and Noir, are just color mutations of the same grape. So in one sense there are 13 and in another sense there are 18. 15 would be incorrect.
Question, in regards to the accepted varieties in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, It says here that there are 13 total accepted, an MS in south Florida told me there are actually 15, and the introductory course workbook says there are 18.. Could you please clear this up for me?
Thank you!
I'd love to see on this page a quick mention of Estaing next to Marcillac as another (now AOP, formerly VDQS) appellation that is based on Fer Servadou. I admit though that this is a personal love because I have a friend who owns a house very near the Co-op in Estaing, and so I drink the wines regularly. I have no idea if they are available commercially in the US, I suspect not as I've never seen any. On the other hand I think it would be of good use to mention Picpoul in the discussion of Languedoc AOP. Fran Kysela, MS, and others import thousands of cases of Picpoul de Pinet and the wines have a following especially in DC and NY.
Tom, thanks for bringing this up. This is a subject I've had my doubts about, and the biodynamic claim is something I've seen repeated in several sources (such as Oxford), but doesn't hold up.
Oxford claims "Even more significant however is that the appellation has become the first in France to demand that all wines are produced biodynamically."
This is what the official site for Les Baux de Provence has to say on the subject:
"Care for the environment is central to the work of the vignerons who, more than 50 years ago, founded the great vineyards in the Baux Valley. Nowadays, A.O.C Les Baux de Provence wines are unusual in that the grapes are grown using organic or biodynamic methods over 85% of their geographical area and most vignerons have been demanding the inclusion of this characteristic in the decrees that have regulated the registered designation of origin for more than a decade.
In 2007, when the Agriculture Act was revised and the decrees relating to A.O.C. wines were rewritten, the vignerons included two significant demands in the specifications that they proposed to the CRINAO (regional committee of the national quality institute). Not only did they ask for an A.O.C Les Baux de Provence for white wines (to date, the white wines they produce are listed either as A.O.C Coteaux d'Aix en Provence, as Vin de Pays des Alpilles or as Vin de Pays des Bouches du Rhône), they also asked for the organic farming method to be included in the specifications. This would have made theirs the first organic A.O.C wine in France. The new specifications have been in effect since 1st April 2009. The vignerons' wishes were not met but the national quality institute is launching discussions on the subject. In his last letter, Pascal Laville, regional delegate for South-Eastern France, said of the decree, "It enables us to take another step forward and propose work on the modifications that you are seeking, especially the acknowledgment of white wines
In regards to this statement:
"Les Baux de Provence AOP, a former subappellation of the larger Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence AOP, is the first region in France to mandate biodynamic farming practices."
A Master Sommelier pointed out to me via Twitter the following:
"actually Les Baux de Provence requires biological (organic) farming not biodynamic"
Could someone please confirm whether or not biodynamic farming practices are mandated in Les Baux de Provence?
Thank you.