Côtes du Rhône

Cōtes du Rhōne is a wine growing Appellation d'Origine Contrōl`ee ( AOC ) for the Rhōne wine region of France, which may be used throughout the region, also in those areas which are covered by other AOCs.

Cōtes du Rhōne are the basic AOC wines of the Rhōne region, and exist as red, white and rose wines, generally dominated by Grenache - reds and roses or Grenache Blanc - whites. 

Wines have been produced in this region since preRoman times, but the rules for Cōte du Rhōne thus formed the very early basis of today's nationwide AOC system.

At the generic level, the official AOC Cōted du Rhōne region streches 200 km from Vienne in the North to Avignon in the south and from the foothills of the Massif Central in the west to the fore-slopes of the Vaucluse and Luberon mountains east of the town of Orange.

There are two sub regions or Rhōne wines:

1. Cōtes du Rhōne septrentrional in the northern part of the region from Vienne to Valence. The wines are cultivatedd on very steep slopes making the harvest extremely arduous. The grapes are manually picked and have to be hauled up the hillside on trolleys.

2. Cōtes du Rhōne m`eridional from Mont`elimar to Avignon in the southern latitudes, produced for about 125 communes. The great majority of these are cultivated on the eastern side of the Rhōne between the river bank near the town of Orange.The wines here are anchored by grenache noir but typically include other grapes such as Syrah and Mourvedre. 

* The reds range in color from deep crimson and ruby to almost purple and are generally full bodied with rich but smooth tannins. They all go very well with rich meat dishes.

* The whites range from dry with a tang of citrus to fuller, like rounder wines which caan be consumed as an aperfit.

Rhōne does not have an official classification using "Grand Cru" or similar terms, in difference to Bordeaux or Burgundy. As You gess most are red blends based on Grenache or Syrah and the vineyards are planted on a variety of different soils. Production rules are not as strict as other levels but wines must have a minimum 11% alc. and be made from the 21 sanctioned grape varieties. These wines are easy drinking, food loving wines that are perfect for everyday. The white and ros`e blends are equally delicious too, even if a little harder to find.