On his trip through France in 1787 Thomas Jefferson visited Vidal-Fleury, today considered one of the most consistent producers in the Rhone Valley. This 2009 Cotes-du-Rhone was a great vintage year and a value at the same time. What a great price and value?!? and shipping was free.

There have been some I have enjoyed, like Beaujolais, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and some Bordeaux and one in particular that I had a few years ago, a Gigondas. The region, once a Cotes-du-Rhone village, earned its own appellation in 1971. I very rarely buy, order or drink French wines. Gigondas French

2010 Vidal-Fleury Cotes Du Rhone Rosé. Columns News 2010 Vidal-Fleury Cotes Du Rhone Rosé 2010 Xavier Flourent Nationale 7“I’ll have what she’s having,” says a woman sitting at an outdoor café in Soho, watching a couple enjoy a refreshing glass of a pale pink wine, the bottle chilling in a silver ice bucket.

This is a tiny town in the Northern Rhone, famous for its red wine made from Syrah and white from Viognier. Today this is the Rhone valley's continuously operating winery. Guy Sarton du Jonchay is a very interesting individual and his wines are fabulous. Rhone News guy sarton du jonchay vidal fleury

The room is full of Rhone wine fans from around the world! Christophe began by explaining the popularity of Rhone style wines - they are food friendly delicious, and increasingly many producers are organic/biodynamic. He brought two red wines, with the first being Domaine Alain Voge 2008 Cotes du Rhone Les Peyrouses.

Domain de Mourchon Seguret Loubie (Rose) 2007 Having a Cote du Rhone designation, this Loubie Rose blend of Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah comes from 40 year old estate grown vines. Flavor: broad and fresh; the characteristic fruity aromas of the bouquet come through with complexity and end with a clean finish.

Tasted the Domain de Mourchon Seguret Loubie (Rose) 2007: Domain de Mourchon is located in the southern Rhone Valley Village of Seguret, near Gigongas. Having a Cote du Rhone designation, this Loubie Rose blend of Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah comes from 40 year old estate grown vines.

Cotes du Rhone (about $40; find this wine ). This big blend of grenache, syrah and carignan, has that ripe, juicy quality from many of the wines of the region. “Merry Christmas!&# I said to my aunt as she greeted us at the door for our annual wintry get together with my cousins. Season’s greetings!

The areas to consider are the Cote Du Rhone, The Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence and Southwest France. Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsaut, these are the most popular grapes of Southern France and vignerons (French winemakers) play around with them in the cellars to create their own identities. promise.

Cru Des Cotes Du Rhone. This blend from France is made from 45% Grenache , 45% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre , it has a deep ruby color with initial aromas of black pepper and ripe plum. this is a nice replacement for an expensive Châteauneuf-du-Pape. At $14.99

From Rhone, France comes this blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah produced by Marianne & Marc Fues, whom I met at the Alsace & Rhone Valley Wine Expo earlier this week in NYC. Marc told me the oak the wine is aged in (for 12 months) comes from many different regions, giving it an interesting character.

Moving to the Rhone valley in France I tried some wines from Eric Texier. Domaine de la Janasse has several wines I was hoping to try but having skipped this table early on I was only able to taste the 2007 Janasse Cotes du Rhone Blanc. Eric Texier of The Rhone had some reds in addition to the whites I mentioned earlier.

This afternoon I attended a fabulous Chateauneuf du Pape (CDP for simplicity) tasting at The Tribeca Grill in downtown Manhattan. The tasting was seemingly co-sponsored by Le Du Wines and Alain Junguenet Selections. The base of most however is Grenache, often blended with Mourvedre, Syrah, & Cinsault. Tough stuff.

Also, the vignerons poured not only their entry level wines, but their top wines, and this provided the opportunity to taste a $62 Cote Rotie without actually buying it, which is much appreciated if you are in my tax bracket and you want to sample the wares before investing. hauled my butt into Manhattan (!) Packed already, and only 1:10 PM.