Sunshine, strong winds, hilltop towns and forts, fresh produce markets, fine dining and the beautiful scenery of Provence are all a perfect accompaniment to the velvety, herbaceous wine the Cotes du Rhone produces. Around 100,000 acres of the Cotes du Rhone are covered in vineyards, with 23 different varieties of grape grown, the major ones being Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Rossanne, Viognier and Marsanne.

The northern regions with their steep dry slopes are dominated by Syrah and across a section of land empty of vines, the south by Grenache and Mourvedre. Because of the huge variety in the standard of the wine produced wines from vineyards surrounding 76 villages are able to label their wares Villages Cotes du Rhone, which grades their standard higher than other wines produced in the region. At an even higher standard are 15 villages that lend the name of their village to their label. Some of the top wine producing villages in the Cotes du Rhone are Chateauneuf du Pape, Cote Rotie and Hermitage. While some of the well know premium producers can be very expensive there are plenty of smaller producers who's vineyards are just outside the parameters protecting the expensive labels and who’s wines definitely deserve more attention than they get.

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Written by  Kat Mackintosh.

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