Rhône Valley

The region's wine history begins with the founding of Massalia, a Greek city not far from the Rhône delta, in 600 BC. In the northern Rhône, wine-growing developed in the first century AD, and the Romans, sailing up the Rhône, founded the town of Vienne and planted vineyards. In the 14th century the papacy moved from Rome to Avignon, and the popes planted extensive vineyards around the city: John XXII had a summer residence built at Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and Benedict XII ordered the building of the Palais des Papes. Regulations to guarantee the provenance and quality of 'Coste du Rhône' wines were introduced in 1650, and in 1737 a royal decree required barrels destined for sale or transport to be branded with the letters 'C.D.R'.

• Ancient roots: the founding of Massalia in 600 BC was the origin of the first vineyards planted in France
• Papal influence: the Avignon popes, great lovers of the local wines, planted extensive vineyards around Avignon in the 14th century
• AOC pioneers: Baron Le Roy, a Châteauneuf-du-Pape grower, championed the appellation cause in the 1930s; the specifications he presented became the model for all subsequent AOC decrees
• Revival: only about 60 hectares of Côte-Rôtie remained planted by 1960 and only a dozen or so hectares of Condrieu by the 1950s; the revival of both began in the 1980s

The Rhône Valley runs south from Lyon to the Rhône Delta, a length of approximately 150 miles, divided stylistically and geographically into a much smaller northern part and a much larger southern part. Its wines are grown between Vienne and Avignon, bordered by the Massif Central, the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea, across the Ardèche, Drôme, Gard, Loire, Rhône and Vaucluse departments. In the north, abrupt slopes with steep gradients extend to milder slopes with terraced plots, and northern wines draw their expression from granite, schist and limestone; some northern vineyards are so steep that pulley systems have to be used for grapes and equipment. In the south, vast flat plains are protected from strong Mistral winds by hedgerows of cypress and poplar, and the soils are more varied: sand, marl and white limestone, yellow, red or blue clay, rounded pebbles, gravel and calcareous clay.

• Northern Rhône: Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage have a semi-continental climate with Mediterranean influences, and the Côte-Rôtie climate can largely be described as continental, similar to that of Lyon
• Côtes du Rhône climate: the Côtes du Rhône climate is Mediterranean, refreshed by the Mistral wind, with hot, dry summers and low rainfall
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape: the Mistral is a cold, dry wind from the north; the appellation receives less than 650 mm of rain and around 2,800 hours of sunshine per year, and its soils include galets roulés (rolled pebbles) mixed with red clay, as well as sand and sandstone
• Terroir contrast: Hermitage's terroir is granitic sand covered with mica-schists and gneiss, with rounded alluvial pebbles closer to the river, while Côte-Rôtie's vineyards are almost all planted on metamorphic rock, on slopes reaching gradients of over 60° in places

The region's wines draw on 37 grape varieties. In the north, Syrah reigns over reds while Viognier and Marsanne dominate whites; in the south, Grenache noir is blended with Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault for reds and rosés. Whites are made from Grenache blanc, Clairette, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier. In 2024 the region had 34,831 hectares of Grenache noir and 23,481 hectares of Syrah. In southern appellations other than Châteauneuf-du-Pape a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre might be considered the most typical, one that Decanter credits with giving birth to the Australian 'GSM' style. Single-varietal wines are rare in the Rhône Valley: Cornas reds are single-varietal, Côte-Rôtie, Saint-Joseph, Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage accept both single-varietal wines and blends, and Condrieu and Château-Grillet make Viognier-based whites.

• Northern Rhône Syrah: the great majority of northern wine is made from Syrah, and Jancis Robinson names Hermitage and Côte Rôtie as the northern Rhône's most famous wines
• Côtes du Rhône blends: red and rosé wines must blend at least 2 of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, with Grenache always included except in the northern part of the vineyards
• Viognier in Condrieu: Viognier is the only grape variety grown in Condrieu, an appellation of 221 hectares in 2024
• Marsanne and Roussanne: white Hermitage is made from Marsanne and Roussanne, and red Hermitage may contain up to 15% Roussanne and/or Marsanne

The three biggest family enterprises of the northern Rhône are Marcel Guigal of Côte Rôtie, Michel Chapoutier, who practises biodynamic viticulture, and Paul Jaboulet Aîné; each vinifies its own grapes and also buys in grapes and wine the length of the Rhône valley. Marcel Guigal's special bottlings La Mouline, La Landonne and La Turque, the so-called 'La-La wines', "have become some of the most sought-after bottles in the world", in Jancis Robinson's words. The merchant house Delas and the family domaine of Jean-Louis Chave are in and around Tain and Tournon. In Côte-Rôtie, the Centurie de Probus, a group of around one hundred winemakers, looks after the vineyards and their 60 estates.

• Marcel Guigal (Côte Rôtie): Jancis Robinson calls Marcel Guigal's single vineyard wines sought after worldwide and attributes the La-La wines' appeal to low yields and uniquely long maturation in new oak
• Chapoutier: one of the three biggest northern family houses, and a merchant house in and around Tain and Tournon; Michel Chapoutier practises biodynamic viticulture
• Jean-Louis Chave: a family domaine that Jancis Robinson lists among the gifted and determined winemakers in and around Tain and Tournon
• Auguste Clape (Cornas): Jancis Robinson calls him 'the local hero' of an appellation she describes as still underappreciated

The Rhône Valley played an active role in establishing French wine appellations. Châteauneuf-du-Pape was one of the first appellations recognised by decree, on 15 May 1936; Côtes du Rhône became an AOC in 1937, the same year as Hermitage, followed by Cornas in 1938 and Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu in 1940. In the Rhône Valley a cru is a communal AOC at the top of the appellation hierarchy (1 cru = 1 AOC), and in 2024 there were 18 Côtes du Rhône crus. In 2024 there were also 21 Côtes du Rhône Villages, and the Côtes du Rhône AOC spans 172 communes and around 30,000 hectares. The northern crus are Château-Grillet, Condrieu, Cornas, Côte-Rôtie, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Saint-Péray.

• AOC hierarchy: the Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages appellations accounted for 57% of the region's total production in 2025, while the crus sit at the top of the hierarchy
• Côtes du Rhône blending rules: accessory varieties may make up to 40% of red and rosé blends, and as of 2024 four adaptation varieties (Rolle, Carignan blanc, Vidoc and Floréal) are authorised up to 10% of the final blend
• Côte-Rôtie rules: Syrah is the principal variety and makes up at least 80% of each holding's plantings
• Cornas and Condrieu: Syrah is the only authorised grape variety in Cornas, and Viognier the only grape variety grown in Condrieu

Hermitage rises on a hill on the left bank above Tain l'Hermitage, whose sister town Tournon lies across a footbridge over the Rhône. The Côte-Rôtie slopes are folded above Ampuis, whose January wine market Inter Rhône calls a major, unmissable annual event for the appellation. The Palais des Papes was built on the orders of Benedict XII, the third Avignon pope, and John XXII had a summer residence built at Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

• Tain l'Hermitage: home to the co-operative Cave de Tain l'Hermitage and, with Tournon, to the merchant houses of Chapoutier, Paul Jaboulet and Delas
• Ampuis: Côte-Rôtie can be found at the town's January wine market
• Avignon and Châteauneuf-du-Pape: the papacy moved from Rome to Avignon in the 14th century, and John XXII had a summer residence built at Châteauneuf-du-Pape
• Southern landscapes: the southern Mediterranean environment is marked by garrigue, lavender fields, truffle oak and olive groves

Primary sources (Inter Rhône and INAO): https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/rhone-valley-vineyards, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/territory-and-terroir, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/rhone-valley-vineyards/grape-varieties, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/wine-school/history-vineyards, https://www.vins-rhone.com/sites/vignoble/files/documentation/2025-04/INTER-RHONE-CHIFFRES-CLES-2025-EN-BAT.pdf, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/rhone-valley-vineyards/appellations/aoc-cotes-du-rhone, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-chateauneuf-du-pape, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-hermitage, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-cote-rotie, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-condrieu, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-cornas, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/wine-school/glossary/crus, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2023AOPCoteRotie.pdf, https://www.vins-rhone.com/fr/aoc-cru-des-cotes-du-rhone-chateauneuf-du-pape. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine/wine-regions/rhone-valley/, https://www.decanter.com/wine/wine-regions/western-europe/france/rhone/southern-rhone/, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/wine-regions/france/northern-rhone. Last verified 2026-10-05