Rhône Valley

The vineyards of Côtes du Rhône are situated on the both sides of the Rhône river for 200km from North to South starting from the Vienne in the South-East of France to Avignon. Total acreage of A.O.C vineyards is about 44000ha. Côtes du Rhône is the second largest A.O.C wine producing area in France following Bordeaux but is divided into two main areas. The Northern Rhône has a mild continental climate with regular rains. The vineyards are situated on the steep slopes and terraced hills along the banks of the Rhône river with granite and schist soils. On the other hand, the Southern Rhône is hot and dry under the Mediterranean climate. The strong North wind called ‘Mistral’ blows south along the river much of the time cooling an otherwise warm region. The vineyards are located on the gentler slopes on both sides of the Southern Rhône. Soil is diverse, with clay, sand and limestone. Since the climate and the soil are very different in the North and the South, the wines produced are very diverse in type. Most of the production is red wine with a total of 21 grape varieties approved.

The region became successful during the 13th century when the Pope moved to the city of Avignon. Most of the wine produced was by the monasteries and made to a high quality. This led to subsequent trade with many other parts of France and the inevitable forgeries. In 1737, the then King passed laws that would guarantee the origin of wines from the Côtes du Rhône region. This was the first wine quality system to be introduced anywhere and quickly grew to include wines from further afield.