The Rhone. As French wine regions go, it is hardly the most dramatic or awe inspiring. In fact, up until a few years ago most wine drinkers would have told you that Rhone wines were simply working class wines meant for common French citizens.

Situated in south western France the Rhone produces wines which are largely different then any other wine produced in France. Given better overall sunlight and a longer growing season mean that red wine is almost exclusively grown here and that wine is typically much more fruit flavored and intense then wine from any other region of France.

The region is named for the river which runs from the Swiss Alps and passes through the valley on the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The region has been split for all intensive purposes into two halves, which is much the norm in France.

The northern Rhone is a smaller, more prestigious, less well known outside of France that only produces one wine: a red wine grape named Syrah. This is the only red wine grape allowed to be grown in the Rhone and for good reason, it creates some of the most wild and untamed wines in the world when grown in the steep hillsides that follow the river across the entire valley.

The southern Rhone is a much larger, better known region that begins about fifty miles south of where the northern Rhone ends. In effect the two regions have nothing in common but the river which gives them their name. Although hotter then many wine growing regions in the entire world, the southern Rhone is a challenging wine growing regions. Severe winds blow down from the Swiss Alps and grow stronger as they pass over the land, these winds are given credit for increasing sugar and acidity in the wines while also possessing the power to rip the vines apart if it grows too strong.

One of the other significant differences between the Rhone regions is that while red wine in the north is only Syrah, red wine in south is always a combination of multiple varietals. In many ways blending is essential in the south because a grape like Syrah will lose its trademark intensity in such warm growing conditions. Many grapes suffer this same fate so blending of different varietals is a way to combine specific qualities of grapes and create a sum which is truly better then its original parts.

Lastly, I should note that the most common grape in the south is Grenache which is of Spanish decent and more highly adapted to the harsh warm growing conditions found in the southern Rhone.

Author: Mark A Aselstine
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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