Many wine regions have their own distinctive personalities. Napa drips with big, rich cabernet sauvignon. Burgundy seduces with its pinot noirs. Tuscan wines demand cuisine. And Rhone wines wrap you in a warm blanket. The Cotes du Rhone region is located in the southern part of France and is actually two distinct vinicultural areas; the Northern Rhone Valley and the Southern Rhone Valley. Wine production in the region began with the arrival of Roman settlers a few centuries B.C, making the Rhone Valley the first area in France to produce significant quantities of wine. The oldest vineyards, Cote Rotie and Hermitage, are located in the northern end of the Valley, where the hearty syrah grape grows on steep, sun-drenched slopes and accounts for the majority of the wine production from this area.

The southern half of the valley has a distinctive Mediterranean influence and is home to the famous Chateauneuf du Pape appellation where red wines are blended from a variety of grapes, including granache, mourvedre, cinsault and carignan, to name a few. In addition, aromatic white wine varietals, such as viognier, marsanne, roussanne, bourboulenc and grenache white are grown throughout the region.