Notes from the Rhȏne River Valley
August 18 – 25, 2024. And now dear readers, for something completely different. Kim and I have returned from a long-delayed trip to the Rhȏne Valley in France where we ate well, drank well, and gathered-in many memories of Provence and the Northern Rhȏne. Instead of an exhaustive travelogue, let me focus this post on some wine-related observations to give you a sense of this region. During our trip we visited three distinct wine producing areas and one winery in each area. Southern Rhȏne. We began in the parched and olive-green hills around Marseilles. Large stone outcrops define ancient river valleys of the southern Rhȏne and sandstone-colored buildings with tile roofs could as easily be in Spain or Italy as in France. In this part of the country, practically all wines are blended with the most common blend being Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre grapes (GSM), although ten other varietals are allowed by law. It is a miracle grapes grow in this area at all because