This month we’re turning our attention to France ’s Rhone Valley.    We’ll also venture into neighboring appellations such as Costieres de Nimes and the Langudoc.

The Rhone Valley is a wine growing region in Southern France.  The Rhone River is located in Southeastern France, near Provence.   It runs North-South and drains into the Mediterranean.  The Rhone Valley is divided into 2 major sections, the North and the South, each making a different style of wine. 

Since these are old-world wines, their labels may seem more intimidating because the wines are named after regions rather than grapes.   We want you to feel comfortable with Rhone wines and to know what to expect to find inside a bottle—really terrific wine.

Appelations

Southern Rhone

In the Southern portion of the Rhone Valley, the wines are blends rather than made from a single variety.  The main red grape here is Grenache, which is blended with Syrah, Mourvedre, Cincault, and Carignan. 

Southern Rhones are medium to full-bodied.  The fruit is wild strawberry and cherry oriented and you will find secondary flavors of earth and freshly cracked black pepper.

Southern Rhone Appelations (the regional names you will find on a wine label) include:

Cotes-du-Rhone, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau, Lirac, and Cairanne. 

The vast majority (95%) of Rhone wines are red, but white wines are produced here as well. They are rare, but worth seeking out. 

Cotes-du-Rhone Blanc and Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc are full-bodied and highly aromatic with a peach-oriented fruit.  They are based on blends of Viognier, Marsanne , Rousanne, Clairette, and Grenache Blanc.

Northern Rhone

In the Northern portion of the Rhone Valley, the wines are 100% Syrah. 

While this is the same grape as Australian Shiraz, Northern Rhones have a distinct flavor profile.  These are full-bodied, long-lived red wines.  They often have flavors of violets, blueberries, bacon, and earth.  (A combination that actually tastes far better than it sounds!)

Northern Rhone appellations (the regions you will find on a wine label) include: Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Cote-Rotie, and St. Joseph.

In the Northern Rhone, the appellation of Condrieu produces white wine that is 100% Viognier and 200% spectacular. 

Costieres de Nimes

A western extension of the Southern Rhone.   Traditional Rhone grapes are grown here.

Languedoc

Further west, the Languedoc is more of an up-and-coming region growing both traditional grapes and newly planted varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.  On a wine label wines from this region will read “Coteaux du Languedoc” or “Vin de Pays D’Oc”. Many wines from the Langudoc are labeled with the grape name on the bottle. 

Pairing Rhones with Food

Rhones are incredibly versatile with foods.  The no-brainer pairing is to serve them with rustic, Provencal cooking and simple bistro cuisine.  Reds are especially enjoyable when paired with lamb and duck, but it’s hard to go wrong.  White Rhones are useful when pairing usually difficult foods with strong flavors of herbs, garlic, and eggs. Try one with garlicky shrimp or a tomato omelet—breakfast for dinner!