Why I love Rhone wines, and you might, too

When I first fell in love with wine, I fell in love with the Rhône Valley. My guide was "Adventures on the Wine Route" by Kermit Lynch, a Berkeley, Calif., importer whose memoir made driving around the French countryside and lunching with winemakers sound rather romantic. I also followed Bobby Kacher, a Washington, D.C., importer with a similar reputation for bringing great wine to the United States. While Lynch and Kacher covered all of France, they each had a strong base in the Rhône.

Recently, I’ve been rediscovering this wine region and remembering why it caught my fancy all those years ago.

I love the Rhône because of history. The Phocaeans brought viticulture to Marseille from Greece in about 600 B.C., and the Romans terraced the steep hillsides of what we now call the northern Rhône a few centuries later. Several winery names reference the Crusades. When the papacy moved from Rome to Avignon from 1309 to 1376, the popes boosted the Rhône's reputation for fine wine and gave us one of the region's most storied appellations, Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

I love the Rhône for its geography. The river winds westward from Lake Geneva in the Swiss Alps and turns south at Lyon. The famous Mistral wind howls down this corridor, bending vines against its fury and inspiring poets to interpret its message. The steep, terraced hillsides of the northern Rhône fan out into more relaxed plains in the south as though the river sheds its cares en route to a Mediterranean vacation. The land here is dotted with hill towns that wine lovers salivate over — Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau — as the climate becomes less continental and more Mediterranean. The entire region stretches roughly between 44 and 45 degrees north latitude, about the same as Oregon's Willamette Valley.

I love the Rhône for its food. Lyon, the gastronomic heart of France where butter meets olive oil, is at the northern end. Provence, where olives and anchovies add briny savoriness to the cuisine, in the south. Truffles, tapenade, fougasse and aioli grace menus.

And I love the wine, of course. If Bordeaux is buttoned-up boardrooms, Champagne a black-tie fete and Burgundy a mystical society with bizarre initiation rites, Rhône wines come with no such expectations. They accept me for who I am, without demands.

Even with inflation, they continue to provide value. Delicious wines from the basic appellations, Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages, can be found between $15 and $25. Two long-standing popular brands, Parallele 45 from Jaboulet and La Vieille Ferme from the Perrin family, can be found much lower. Total Wine & More lists the La Vieille Ferme three-liter box for $27, the equivalent of $6.75 a bottle.

Prices tend to go up as we climb the appellation hierarchy, through several villages that have earned the right to put their names on Côtes du Rhônes Villages and to the 17 crus - towns whose names can stand alone on a label. (For example, Sablet Côtes du Rhône Villages ranks in the mid-tier as a "named village," while nearby Gigondas stands alone as a top-tier cru.)

For a general understanding of Rhone wines, think of a north-south divide. Those steep terraced vineyards in the northern cru appellations of Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas, Saint-Joseph and Côte Rôtie are dominated by syrah, favored because it ripens early in the cooler climate. The wines achieve a flinty, gamey character and a tannic structure that requires some aging to coax the wine out of itself. Some wines are fermented with a small percentage of white grapes (usually viognier) included to lend an aromatic lift.

In the south, grenache is the primary red variety, with syrah and mourvedre in supporting roles. Cinsaut, carignan, counoise and marselan make occasional cameos. Devotees of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines can recite the 13 varieties (some of them white) permitted by law in the blend, though today most are dominated by grenache.

In white wines, viognier stars in the small, hard-to-find and pricey appellation of Condrieu in the northern Rhône. Otherwise, whites are usually blends of marsanne and roussanne, typically full-bodied and low in acid. In the south, grenache blanc and a few other varieties add zip and interest.

There is rosé of course. Côte du Rhône rosé is typically quite dry in many shades of pink. Tavel, an appellation devoted to rosé, is cherry red and often a bit sappy, with a hint of sweetness.

Climate change is an issue. The Rhône has experienced several warmer-than-average vintages since 2015. Alcohol levels have crept up as a result, and there's a risk that some of those savory nuances that distinguish the wines may be lost. But the Rhône remains a fascinating and delicious region to explore.

Here are just a few delicious reds from the Rhône Valley. Use these as a starting point, but don't be afraid to ask your retailer for recommendations of other wines to try.

Rhone Valley, France, $19

Savory with blackberry and blueberry flavors, and a hint of wild sage and smoky minerality — this is textbook CdR. You can't go wrong with the E. Guigal label. The white CdR is also delicious. Alcohol by volume: 15 percent. Bottle weight: 565 grams (Average).

Imported by Vintus. Distributed locally by Republic National.

Rhone Valley, France, $20

Bing cherry, plum and lavender highlight this delicious wine. Tannins are moderate and balanced to give a sappy finish that suggests the wine will continue to age gracefully for a few years. The texture suggests a low center of gravity, as though the wine keeps me grounded. ABV: 14.5 percent. BW: 540 grams (Average).

Imported and distributed locally by Winebow.

Rhone Valley, France, $24

A roast dripping over a fire. A puff of smoke — is the meat burning? No, patience, patience. Time is flavor. Sit back, relax and enjoy a sip of this savory beauty, with its deep cherry and woodsy mushroom flavors. Just be sure to save some for dinner once the roast is done. ABV: 15 percent. BW: 715 grams (Heavy).

Imported by Kobrand. Distributed locally by Republic National.

Rhone Valley, France, $33

Smoky, meaty and minerally. Flavors of tart plums and cherries, accented by wild herbs. This wine calls for hearty, smoky meats off the grill. ABV: 14 percent. BW: 420 grams (Light).

Imported by Folio Fine Wine Partners. Distributed locally by Breakthru Beverage, Republic National.

Rhone Valley, France, $40

If you’ve wondered what wine lovers mean by "minerality" in a red wine, try this one. There's an impression of stones, both in the flavors on your palate and in the texture of the wine around your mouth. ABV: 15 percent. BW: 575 grams (Average).

Imported by Vintus. Distributed locally by Republic National.

Prices are approximate. For availability, check Wine.com, Wine-searcher.com and the websites and social media feeds of the wineries, importers or distributors. You can also ask your local retailer to order wines from the distributors listed.

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