Native garrigue and lavender are major influences.Located in the northern section of the southern Rhone, The Côte de Vivarais produces robust Syrah and Grenache dominant blends, deep roses and fresh mineral-driven white wines.Your wine smarts deserve to be on the next level. Oct 22, 2015 - Reds hailing from the southern Rhône region go well with the onset of chilly weather. Because Châteauneuf-du-Pape has moderately high acidity, you usually can’t taste any sweetness.The Southern Rhône is hot. You can find him at www.vinetrainings.com The Southern Rhone has a few ‘break-away’ regions, too. (In fact if there is a regional fault it is that in some very hot years the wines can be just too alcoholic, and in particularly dry years they can be too tannic.) This may be the smallest red AOC in size, but wines from Cornas are big and powerful!Only white and sparkling wines from Marsanne and Roussanne in this AOC! The southern Rhône is an important hunting ground for the merchants of the northern Rhône, and a significant proportion of the wines made here are shipped north in bulk to be sold with a Tain or Tournon address on the label. Yet the better wines from the region have a savory, smoked meat quality that places them firmly in the Old World.Uncover the appellations and wines of France with this detailed map.Vintages in the Southern Rhône matter less than in many other French regions: it’s warm down there by the French Riviera, so it’s a rare vintage where grapes don’t reach full ripeness. To see how Wine-Searcher uses average pricing and professional wine critic scores on this page, Pairing Spanish wines: From the sommeliers. In particular, check out the wines of This map lays out tons of great wines awaiting your discovery in one of the largest wine making areas on earth.Zach Geballe is a writer, sommelier, teacher, and most of all a wine lover. In no particular order:These 17 distinctive crus of the Rhône Valley – 8 in the north and 9 in the south – truly express their individual “terroir” and are responsible for about 20% of the Rhône wine production. Most are red blends based on Grenache or Syrah and the vineyards are planted on a variety of different soils. Red Châteauneuf is a big, beefy wine with lots of alcohol and extract, with a come-hither, if slightly bludgeoning, approach to the wine drinker. The winds are always followed by clear bright skies, providing abundant sunshine for the vines. The vineyards are planted on steep hillsides that are terraced with man-made walls of local river rocks called ‘restanque’. Co-operative wineries are also extremely important here. Some people like the added complexity that it seems to give to wines, and others find it disgusting. Red Burgundy. Like their famous cousin, they pack tons of flavor, body, and structure into a package that starts with lush black and red fruits, mouthwatering savory aromas of cured meats, herbs like sage and rosemary, and even green olives. Come explore this superb region and learn why:Viticulture as we know it arrived in Southern France with the Greeks in the 4th century BC. Ventoux is named after the famous landmark of Mont Ventoux Vacqueryras. Browse our visual wine compendium or our playful weekly articles. I find this one of France's most reliable appellations, and have had remarkably few disappointments among wines bottled in the signature-embossed, heavy bottle. This was the very first AOC to be recognized when the system was instituted in 1936.The vineyards are planted with 14 varietals (18 if you count the variations!) Since the appellation was formed in 1966, five of the nearly 20 villages have been granted their own appellations – Beaumes-de-Venise, Gigondas, Rasteau, Vacqueyras and Vinsobres – and the other village names encountered on labels and also marked on the map produce some seriously fine, often underpriced wines.