The Rhone River was born high up on the Swiss Alps, starting as melt water at the foot of the Rhone glacier.  The river enters into Lake Geneva where it acquires dual citizenship, half French and half Swiss.  From the Lake, the river winds its way through the Jura and is joined by the Saone in Lyon.  The full flowing river displays itself in earnest near Vienne, carving a deep rift through the valley and flowing south where eventually it serenely empties into the Mediterranean.  It’s along this stretch that the 125 mile Cotes du Rhone appellation winds its way from Vienne to Avignon, encompassing the Northern and Southern Rhone.

Northern Rhone:   This region, winding its way along the mighty Rhone River, extends from Vienne to Valence.  The steep valley walls are lined, nearly continuously, with vineyards along the entire route.  This approach dates back to the Roman era, workers employing a technique developed for the steep and rocky slopes of the region.  It’s nearly impossible to travel the region along the Rhone and not be in awe of the valley vineyards carved deeply into the steep hillsides.  When we begin our video series with Guigal and Chapoutier, we’ll show you first hand the layout.

The climate of the region varies from continental in Northern Rhone (somewhat similar to its northerly neighbor Burgundy) to Mediterranean in the Southern counterpart.   This translates into more weather extremes in the north than south although there is one common characteristic between the two, the infamous mistral.  The mistral is a fierce northerly wind that results from the confluence of weather systems to the north of France.  Winds of up to 90mph race through the valley, often damaging grapes, vines and their canopy of leaves.  There is, however, a beneficial side to the wind, drying out the vines after a period of humid conditions and alleviating the risk of mildew and rot.