The Rhone Valley

Long known for being the home of some of the finest French chefs the Rhone valley is famous for it's exquisite food. However, it's fine food is not this valley's only claim to fame. The medieval village of Perouges has been filmed over and over due to it's classical features. The market town of Valance distributes much of the regions fresh produce and the area is dotted with vineyards and wineries.

Tourists to the area will be entranced by this areas beautiful gorges, grotto's, waterfalls, and woods finding it quite a welcome break from the noise of city life. The Rhone river was once an important means of travel throughout the area and plays a large part in the region's history. The Rhone Valley is actually divided into two regions, the Northern Rhone and The Southern Rhone.

The Northern region of the Rhone valley is known for it's fine red wines produced from the Syrah grapes and white wines from the viognier grapes. The Southern region on the other hand produces an array of red, white and rose wines.

It is believed that the first cultivated wines in the valley were produced about 600 B.C. Over 6000 wine growing properties make up the wine region of the Rhone valley including almost 2000 private wine growers.

The Northern region of the Rhone Valley has harsh winters and hot summers. It is one of the oldest wine producing regions in France. Vineyards cover the steep terraced hills in the area and slope down towards the Rhone river in the west. The single red wine grape in the Northern Rhone valley is the Syrah grape which produces dark red tannin rich wines. There are also a number of white wines that are produced in this region.

The Southern region of the Rhone Valley is much larger than the Northern region and produces several different grape varieties. This allows for the production of inexpensive high quality red, white, and rose wines.

Visitors to the Rhone region of France enjoy spending time in the French Alps and seeing the sites. They then are eager to taste the local cuisine of the area and sample the great wines that this region is known for. If you are looking for some great places to visit in the wine region of the Rhone valley a visit to medranowine.com is well worth your while whether you decide to concentrate your time on the northern or southern region of the Rhone valley you won't be disappointed in the beauty of the land or the friendliness of the people. That is why many choose to have their wedding in the vineyards of rhone valley. Best of all even those of you who may never visit this beautiful and historic region of France can enjoy the flavors of the country through the wonderful red, white and rose wines that they produce.

Each distinct wine tells something of the character of the land on which the grapes were grown and the pride of the people who live and work the vineyards. Enjoying a bottle of wine from the Rhone valley is not simply drinking an excellent glass of vino it is experiencing a little taste of the Rhone valley without leaving home.