Two Rhônes Make a Right - A Tale of North and South!
- Ventoux rising from table grapes to quality wines
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Time to revisit the Rhône Valley!
The Rhône wine region is in the Rhône Valley’s southern portion. It stretches 50 kilometres, encompasses 32 subregions, and is broken down into two separate zones: Northern Rhône & Southern Rhône. It is the second highest wine production region in France after Bordeaux. The focus here is red, with 75% of production being red wines in 2020, with the remainder about 15% rosé and 10% white.
The North and the South zones are quite different from one another in terms of grapes of focus, climate, soils, and topography. The North produces Syrah all day, while the South is focused on blends of predominantly Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, supported by Cinsault and Carignan.
Okay, but you have only mentioned red grapes.
True.
For whites in the northern Rhône, Viognier is king with Marsanne & Roussanne having a secondary role. The reverse is true for the south, plus a few added characters named Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, and Clairette.
Funny that they are considered the same wine region.
They are like the yin to each other's yang.
Well two Rhônes do make a right!
Oh boy!
The Northern zone is cooler, extremely steep, and very focused; the South is warmer, flat, and more spread out. The South consists of 2/3 cooperative wineries while the North barely has any cooperatives. The majority of the wines from the South Rhône are Grenache dominant (42% of plantings).
Ultimately, the fact that they are so different leads to a lot of confusion.
Tell me more!
Let’s get into the nitty gritty. If this is too much detail for you just scroll down to below all the numbered lists to regular scheduled programming. 😊
First, I must remind everyone what the term ‘cru’ means. According to the Oxford Companion to Wine, the term “cru”, which means “growth” in English, refers to vineyards that are part of a subregion that are officially considered superior quality than the rest of the wine region.
Northern Rhône
Consists of only 5% of the greater Rhône’s total production. There are 8 crus:
1. Côte-Rôtie
2. Condrieu
3. Château-Grillet
4. Saint-Joseph
6. Hermitage
7. Cornas
8. Saint-Péray
Southern Rhône
It is a little more complicated here. Visuals always help.
At the bottom of the pyramid is the Côtes du Rhône subregion. Just above it is the Côtes du Rhône Villages subregion with more stringent regulations to be followed. Next up is the Côtes du Rhône Villages + Actual Village Name, like the prior category but with even more stringent regulations. There are 21 villages that qualify for this category.
I am hearing from the peanut gallery that you have this wrong…
WELL, I double checked this. There used to be 22 villages, but Laudun is now its own cru which brings the number of villages to 21:
Visan
Puyméras
Séguret
Saint-Gervais
Suze-la-Rousse
Sainte-Cécile
Valréas
Roaix
Sablet
Signargues
Rochegude
Chusclan
Rousset-les-Vignes
St-Pantaléon-les-Vignes
St-Maurice-sur-Eygues
Gadagne
Massif d’Uchaux
Plan de Dieu
Vaison la Romaine
Saint Andéol
Nyons
Lastly, the 9 Southern Rhône Crus:
2. Gigondas
3. Vacqueyras
4. Beaumes-de-Venise
5. Rasteau
6. Cairanne
7. Vinsobres
8. Lirac
9. Tavel
There are other outlying subregions which surround the Southern Rhône subregions list above, with the following being the largest and consequently most seen on the export markets:
1. Costières de Nîmes
2. Ventoux
3. Grignan-les-Adhémar
4. Luberon
Today I want to focus on Ventoux, which is one of the largest subregions in France. Its namesake – Mont Ventoux – peaks at 1912 m, dominating the region. The vineyards reside on Mont Ventoux’s western and southern flanks and on surrounding flat lands.
Why have I never heard of Ventoux?
The area used to only produce table grapes and other tree fruits including cherries.
Aren’t grapes, grapes?
Nope! Table grapes are grown to be enjoyed as fresh fruit. Most grapes grown worldwide are to make wine, the second purpose is for table grapes.
Huh!
The goal is different from wine grapes. Table grapes are all about consistent berry size, bright color, firm flesh texture, few seeds, and resilient skins that can handle storage and transport. This is often not the case with wine grapes.
Huh!
They are harvested earlier to have lower sugar levels and higher acidity to have a more refreshing taste. Brix is the unit of measure use to measure the sugar content of grape juice – it is simply a measurement of specific gravity of liquids. Table grapes are picked at 15 to 18 degrees Brix while dry wine are harvested closer to 22 degrees Brix depending on the variety and the winemaking goals.
Brix, brix … what a funny word … brix – and darn fun to say! (Brix …)
It’s a surname actually: Adolf Ferdinand Wenceslaus Brix…
That’s a mouthful.
He was a German mathematician and engineer who lived from 1798 to 1870.
Huh. Another engineer….
But back to Ventoux. In the 1990s wine quality increased significantly with Château Pesquié and Domaine de Fondrèche’s efforts. By 2020 the subregion had grown to 150 wineries. It produces very little white. The main grapes are same as the other Southern Rhône subregions: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault producing both red and rosé wines.
Let me guess, the featured wine is from one of the producers above?
Wow, it is like you are on the inside or something. Read on for the featured wine!!
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Chateau Pesquié ‘Terrasses’ 2022 from Ventoux, Rhône Valley, France
Style: Medium Body Old World Red Wine
Varieties: 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah, traces of Cinsault, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Marselan
This well balanced wine has fruit notes of raspberry, red cherry, blueberry, and black cherry alongside earth and caramel aromas. It has moderate intensity with ripe slightly grainy tannins.
Best pairings: Pork chops, Beef cheeseburgers, Pizza, Grilled sausage, Shawarma, Stuffed peppers, Beemster or Goat cheese,
Serving Temperature: 15-17 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Pour & enjoy!
Price: ~$20 Cdn
If you're in Alberta and want a one-on-one wine curation experience, please reach out! No commitment or minimum purchase required. Interested? Please reach out!
If you live in Edmonton - I am here for you too! (No, contrary to the rumours - Cork is NOT opening a store in Edmonton BUT we want to deliver to YOU!)
A huge thank you to my paid subscribers—your support helps cover the costs of creating these weekly articles.
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SOURCES:
Admin (2023) Your easy guide to understanding the red wines of Côtes du Rhône , Welcome. Available at: https://watchmesip.com/2023/10/12/your-easy-guide-to-understanding-the-red-wines-of-cotes-du-rhone/ (Accessed: 19 June 2025).
American Association of Wine Economists Aawe (no date) LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-association-of-wine-economists-aawe (Accessed: 19 June 2025).
Des appellations de la vallée du rhône (no date) Côtes du Rhône et Côtes du Rhône Villages | Côtes du Rhône site officiel. Available at: https://www.cotesdurhone.com/fr/les-appellations/cotes-du-rhone-et-cotes-du-rhone-villages (Accessed: 19 June 2025).
Vukovic, P. (2024) Rhone Valley Wine Map, Wine Scholar Guild. Available at: https://www.winescholarguild.com/wine-maps/french-wine-maps/rhone-valley-wine-map (Accessed: 19 June 2025).
Harding, J. and Robinson, J. (2023) The oxford companion to wine. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Hospitality in a Bottle (no date) Home page | Vins Rhône. Available at: https://www.vins-rhone.com/en (Accessed: 19 June 2025).
MacNeil, K. (2022) The wine bible. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.
Vukovic, P. (2024) Rhone Valley Wine Map, Wine Scholar Guild. Available at: https://www.winescholarguild.com/wine-maps/french-wine-maps/rhone-valley-wine-map (Accessed: 19 June 2025).
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (2021) D3: Wines of the World - An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Great map of the Rhone wine region Éveline.
I do love a Cotes de Ventoux rosé in the summer - great fresh taste and good value. A spicy, peppery red Rhone is great with richer autumnal dishes. Try as I might (and I have), I can’t seem to enjoy white Cote du Rhones and am not partial to marsanne, Viognier or roussanne. I find the wines too flabby and heavy - lacking acidity?
So many villages in Southern Rhone makes me feel like there is just so much to unpack there, and appreciate. Add in the amount of different grapes allowed in the Southern blends, no wonder there is so much variation to the region. Thank you for teaching us about Ventoux.