Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Beaumes-de-Venise Rhône valley Vineyards

 At the Welwyn Wine Society Thursday evening Feb 26th, members and guests met the ambassador to the UK for Inter Rhône wines from south east France.

Trevor Sharot, Linda Field, Angela Lansbury. Photo by Angela Lansbury.



Linda was born and brought up in Britain, so she speaks English, but has lived in the Rhône area for many years. She gave a clear slide show about Rhône wines, with maps and charts. 

As a child I was taught the song Sur Le Pont d'Avignon. For years as a child and adult in England I had no idea where was Avignon. Now I know it in the Rhone region, South east France. Of course one of the landmarks is the bridge.

Most wine lovers and French speakers as well as researchers will know that Château is a Château, or castle. Neuf is new. And du Pape is of the Pope. So the Pope's new Château or new castle. It was built way back in the 1300s.

It is usually described as his home. Others say it was his summer home. Some say he was lured in from Italy, others that he was lured south from elsewhere in France to give the area prestige.

Protected Placenames

Protecting the name of a place or region was not a new idea. Protected placenames for food had existed as far back as the 1400s when Roquefort cheese became a protected name.

A few centuries further on, about six centuries further on, the Châteauneuf du Pape wines were so popular that vineyards elsewhere in France and as far overseas as Algeria were using the name as well. 

In 1935 a body was set up to decide which names were to be protected, and in 1936 they protected the first half dozen, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Cognac, Cassis, Tavel and two others.

The next step was to ensure that the reputation was preserved by checking that wines from the area had a consistent style, quality, method of production, which might include anything from the variety of grape allowed to the method of production and the number of years the wine was matured, or even the best years. That is why you nowadays get appeals and disputes about whether certain novelties or variations can be allowed.

You then get divisions, or hierarchies. Other regions of France, and other countries, have copied this idea of protecting names, all with their own rules.

Useful Websites on Wines From The Rhone

https://bubblyprofessor.com/2017/01/06/the-first-ever-aoc-goes-to/

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