wine experts please?

Question

I'm trying to find at least 3 wines off the rhone river, are the appellations the names of the wines or the variatal blends or the winery? my books are packed can you give me names off 3 or more wines from the rhone?

Answer 1

Appellations denote a geographical area.

Wineries within that geographical area can put the words Appellation Controllee and the name of the appellation if the wine conforms to the legal restrictions of that appellation. The rules control variously the varieties of grapes that can be grown there, the amount of wine produced per hectare, the method of making the wine.

Confusingly large appellations can contain smaller appellations.

Three Rhone appellations -

Cotes du Rhone (usually red - from a Syrah/Grenache blend; some whites made)
Hermitage (can be red, made usually from Syrah or white made usually from Marsanne
Chateauneuf-du-Pape (Usually red, a blend of up to 13 different varieties but primarily Grenache, and some whites)

Thus you can have a winery -- say Guigal -- producing a wine and on the label it will say

E. Guigal
Cotes du Rhone
Appellation Cotes du Rhone Controllee

see a label of this wine here http://www.guigal.com/images/etiquettes/1119878989_185297.jpeg

- Guigal is the producer
- Cotes du Rhone is the wine
- Appellation Cotes du Rhone Controllee shows it conforms to the rules for Cotes du Rhone appellation.

French wines do not usually put the names of the varieties on the label. They consider the place the wine comes from is more important, and you can only grow permitted varieties in that area.

Answer 2

The Rhone Valley can be roughly divided into the Northern Rhone and the Southern Rhone.

The wines are named after their appellation (the geographical place) rather than the grapes. The label will show the name of the producer and the appellation. You'll find wines from many different producers which come from the same appellation. For example, some prominent producers from the Rhone would be E. Guigal, Alain Graillot, and M. Chapoutier.

Northern Rhone wines would include Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas, and St. Joseph.

Southern Rhone wines would include Cotes du Rhone, Gigondas, and Chateauneuf du Pape.

These wine names all refer to the appellation from which they come.

The red wines from the Northern Rhone are almost all 100% Syrah.

In the south, the reds are a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache with the exception of Chateauneuf du Pape where up to 13 different varietals can go into the blend.

Hope that helps. Sorry if it was confusing, but such is the appellation system.

Answer 3

Regional Côtes du Rhône Appellation

Areas spreading over 171 communes
In the 6 Departments: Ardèche, Drôme, Gard, Loire, Rhône and Vaucluse.

2004 the Côtes du Rhône Appellation area expanded! 10 new communes suitable for the production of A.O.C. Côtes du Rhône wines (9 in the Gard and 1 in the Vaucluse) were added to the production area, and two communes
(one in the Ardèche and one in the Drôme) were withdrawn due to urbanisation and wooded areas. All this brings the number of communes in the C.D.R. production zone to 171 (163 + 8).

Soil types
Five main soil types are found in the Côtes du Rhône. The shingle clay soil, the stony “argilo-calcaireous” and the soils containing layered stone (on the mountain slopes) provide the vines with a regular source of water and at night give off heat that has been stored up by the stones throughout the day. These types of soil are especially appropriate for producing wine for laying down.
Alternatively, loess and sandy soils offer a more irregular supply of water and are more suitable for producing white, rosé and lighter red wines.

Production
Area under cultivation : 40,326 hectares and 6,000 wine makers make the Regional Côtes du Rhône one of the leading AOC red wine producers in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur and Languedoc Rousillon region.
Basic yield: 52 hl/hectare.

Grape variety selection. Climate and the types of soil have influenced the type of grape varieties under cultivation. Each variety conveys its own specific character, which, when blended with other varieties, results in the production of well balanced finely tuned wines.
Grenache, the main grape variety for red wines, offers fruitiness, warmth and body. Syrah and Mourvèdre donate a hint of spices, as well as depth of colour and strength to the wine enabling it to age well.

Cinsault is the bearer of finesse and is ideal for making rosé and fruity first year wines. White wines, which are fresh and aromatic, are the result of blending together several grapes, such as Bourboulenc, Grenache white, Roussanne, Marsanne, Clairette, and / or Viognier.

In 1996, following an initiative on the part of the wine growers, a new Appellation decree came into force aimed at endorsing and strengthening the typical characteristics of Côtes du Rhône wines.
For the red and rosé wine, Grenache must make up at least 40% of the grape variety mix (excluding Northern wines based on the Syrah grape variety).

In the same way, 80% of the white wine grape variety mix is made up of: Grenache white, Clairette, Marsanne, Roussanne, Bourboulenc and Viognier.

Minimum alcoholic strength: 11% for red, rosé and white wines.

Answer 4

Ripple, Thunderbird & Spanada

Answer 5

http://www.cellarnotes.net/appellation_system_in_france.html

I found this site to be extremely knowledgable


Here are 2
Burgundy wine --same region
Chateauneuf du Pape --- same region