Rhone Valley wines

Since ancient times, the Rhone Valley has always been the preferred route between the Mediterranean world, Nothern Europe and the Atlantic. Already planted by the Gallics, the Rhone vineyards have benefited from the knowledge of the Greeks. However, the Romans were the one who developed the vineyard and the wine business at their arrival in 125 b-C. The work they accomplished helped promoting the Vienne vineyard, the very rugged slopes of the Right Bank and later the one on the Left Bank of the Rhone river. The work of the Church allowed to keep the patrimony of the Romans despite the dormant phase succeeding the fall of the Empire. The popes, settled in Avignon from 1309-1418, gave back the nobleness to the Rhone wines thanks to their quality requirements. The 17th and 18th centuries were highlighted by innovation in the Rhone viticulture. In 1650, the local winemakers created a proper rule to guarantee the authenticity of origin and preserve the character of the wines. In the mid-19th century, the slope of the Rhone Valley become the Côtes-du-Rhône, officialised in 1937 with the obtention of the AOC.