Rhone Rangers
Encyclopedia
Winemaker
A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes:*Cooperating with viticulturists...
s who promote the use of grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
varieties from the Rhône Valley in the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. They are mostly based in the Central Coast
Central Coast AVA
The Central Coast AVA is a large American Viticultural Area that spans from Santa Barbara County in the south to the San Francisco Bay Area in the north. The boundaries of the Central Coast include portions of six counties. With around planted to wine grapes, Chardonnay accounts for more than...
of California and are now organized into a not-for-profit organization for the promotion of wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
s containing at least 75% of the 22 Rhône grape varieties. Their name is a pun on The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
. Originally formed in the 1980s, with no formal structure or organization, the group disbanded in the early 1990s. It was revived again in the late 1990s and is considered a catalyst in making Syrah more prevalent on the Californian wine
California wine
California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state...
landscape. The structure is loosely based on that of the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers or ZAP which has been equally successful in promoting Zinfandel
Zinfandel
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Puglia , where it was introduced in the 18th century...
in the industry. Today its membership also includes wineries from Washington State
Washington Wine
Washington wine is wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington ranks second in the United States in the production of wine, behind only California. By 2006, the state had over of vineyards, a harvest of of grapes, and exports going to over 40 countries...
, Idaho
Idaho wine
Idaho wine refers to wine made from the U.S. state of Idaho. Idaho has a long history of wine production with the first vineyards in the Pacific Northwest being planted here in the 1860s...
and Virginia
Virginia wine
Virginia wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Virginia. Wine has been produced in the area since the early days of European colonization in the 17th century. Virginia has hot humid summers that can be challenging to viticulture. Since 2000, Chardonnay has been the most...
.
History
Central Coast of California
The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County...
. In the 1980s, Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard
Bonny Doon Vineyard
Bonny Doon Vineyard is a winery based in the Santa Cruz mountains of California. It was started by Randall Grahm in 1983. Bonny Doon was amongst the first Californian wineries to embrace Rhone varietals, giving Randall Grahm the nickname "The Rhone Ranger". The winery is known for its untraditional...
and Bob Lindquist of Qupé Wine Cellars began popularizing the marketing of the Rhône varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
s. Their success helped to revive plantings of many traditional Rhône grapes that were dying out in California like Grenache
Grenache
Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, the south of France, and California's San Joaquin Valley. It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively...
, Mourvedre
Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre , Mataró or Monastrell is wine grape variety used to make both strong, dark red wines and rosés. It is an international variety grown in many regions around the world....
and Viognier
Viognier
Viognier is a white wine grape. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhone valley.-History:The origin of the Viognier grape is unknown. Viognier is presumed to be an ancient grape, possibly originating in Dalmatia and then brought to Rhône by the Romans. One legend...
. Syrah also saw a dramatic increase in plantings. Now companies from the Rhone itself, such as Château de Beaucastel
Château de Beaucastel
Château de Beaucastel is a winery located in the southern part of the Rhône valley in France, which is primarily noted for its Châteauneuf du Pape wines produced in a long-lived style. For its red Châteauneuf du Pape, Beaucastel includes all 13 grape varieties that are traditionally part of the...
, have set up operations in California - the Beaucastel venture, Tablas Creek, insists like its parent on using all 13 varieties allowed for Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a French wine Appellation d'origine contrôlée located around the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône wine region in southeastern France. It is the most renowned appellation of the southern part of the Rhône Valley...
.
Styles
Rhône wines are almost always produced as blends rather than single varietals. The main styles of red blend are :- "Châteauneuf-du-PapeChâteauneuf-du-PapeChâteauneuf-du-Pape is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-History:Châteauneuf-du-Pape is firmly entwined with papal history. In 1308, Pope Clement V, former Archbishop of Bordeaux, relocated the papacy to the city of Avignon...
" - (also known as GSM) about half Grenache, with some Syrah and/or Mourvedre to impart aging potential, and rounded out with minor amounts of other varieties to give complexity. - "Hot weather" - Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan in varying proportions for early drinking.
- "AustralianAustralian wineThe Australian Wine Industry is the fourth largest exporter of wine around the world, with 760 million litres a year to a large international export market and contributes $5.5 billion per annum to the nation's economy...
" - Syrah and Cabernet SauvignonCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
Marsanne-Roussanne
Roussanne
Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage AOC, Hermitage AOC and Saint-Joseph AOC...
is the classic blend for whites. Viognier tends to be produced as a single varietal or added to red blends in the Rhône, but in the New World
New World wine
New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.-Early wines in the Americas:...
gets blended with just about anything.
Grape varieties
Counoise
Counoise is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. Counoise adds a peppery note and good acidity to a blended red wine, but does not have much depth of colour or tannin. There were of Counoise in France in 2000....
, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Muscardin
Muscardin
Muscardin is a dark-skinned grape variety primarily found in the southern part of the Rhône region. It is primarily noted for being one of the thirteen grape varieties permitted in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation...
, Syrah, Durif
Durif
Durif is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in California, Australia, France, and Israel. Since the end of the 20th century, wineries located in Washington's Yakima River Valley, Maryland, Arizona, West Virginia, Chile, Mexico's Baja Peninsula, and Ontario's Niagara Peninsula have also...
(Petite Sirah), Piquepoul Noir, Terret Noir
Terret Noir
Terret Noir is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. It is a permitted blending grape for Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Like the related Terret Gris and Terret Blanc, the vine tends to bud late and grow vigorously. Terret Noir produces a light color wine that is...
and Vaccarèse. Zinfandel has origins in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and southern Italy
Italian wine
Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...
, but has an affinity with the Rhone style and is considered an "honorary member" of the club. Durif is a grape from southwest France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, widely grown in California as Petite Sirah, that is similar in style to some of the red Rhône varieties. In 2002, after DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
testing by ampelographers showed that Durif was a cross between Peloursin
Peloursin
Peloursin is wine grape best known for its crossing with Syrah to make the red wine grape Durif.The grape is believed to have originated in Isère from the northern Rhône-Alpes region. Today it can be found in some quantities in California and Victoria, Australia....
and the popular Rhône grape Syrah, Petite Sirah was officially voted in as a member of the Rhône Ranger varieties.
The main white varieties are Bourboulenc
Bourboulenc
Bourboulenc is a white wine grape variety primarily grown in southern France. The variety is found in the regions Southern Rhône, Provence and Languedoc....
, Clairette Blanc
Clairette Blanc
Clairette blanche is a white wine grape variety most widely grown in the wine regions of Provence, Rhône and Languedoc in France. At the end of the 1990s, there were of Clairette Blanche grown in France, although volumes are decreasing....
, Grenache Blanc
Grenache Blanc
Grenache blanc is a variety of white wine grape that is related to the red grape Grenache. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol and low acidity, with citrus and or herbaceous notes. Its vigor can lead to overproduction and...
, Marsanne, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains
Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains
Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains is a white wine grape that is a member of the Muscat family of Vitis vinifera. Its name comes from its characteristic small berry size and tight clusters...
, Picardin, Picpoul Blanc, Roussanne, Ugni Blanc and Viognier
Viognier
Viognier is a white wine grape. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhone valley.-History:The origin of the Viognier grape is unknown. Viognier is presumed to be an ancient grape, possibly originating in Dalmatia and then brought to Rhône by the Romans. One legend...
.