Wine was not invented in France (though I've known Frenchmen who would dispute that), it was first cultivated in what is now Georgia -- the Republic, not the state. But the Phocaeans who founded Marseilles in 600 BC chose the region especially for its suitability for viticulture. Once the Romans swept in they took grapes to France's other great regions, but it was in the Rhône Valley where they learned from the native Gauls how to manipulate and improve their wines.
More than a thousand years later, even the winemakers of Burgundy knew of the superiority, or at least the potential, of the Côte-du-Rhône wines. Since the Burgundians wanted a monopoly on the profitable wine retail centers of Paris and London, the Duchy of Burgundy slapped oppressive transit duties on wine traveling through their land by way of the Saône, or sometimes banned their transport altogether. Winemakers in the Rhône Valley would not enjoy popularity in Paris until the rail transport circumvented Burgundy in the 1800s.
The grapes of the region, and there are 13 that can be legally used in wine that carries Rhône on its label, have traveled around the world to find new homes and worldwide fame in vineyards as distant as California, Chile and Australia. Indeed the wine that started the global boom in Aussie wine sales in the early 1980s, Penfold's Grange, was originally 100 percent Syrah, or Shiraz as they call it Down Under. It still carries only a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon; no doubt a result of heavy lobbying by the folks in its native Bordeaux.
Northern and Southern Rhône wines are distinctly different because they have distinct climates. Along the river's 125-mile, dead-straight-south sprint from Lyon to the Sea, there are more than 124,000 acres planted to vine. In the north they are planted on terraces carved for centuries by farmers into the slopes that make up the foothills of the Alps. Here the cooler continental climate produces not necessarily a better or a worse grape, but certainly a different one form its cousins to the south.
In the south, where the mighty river widens as it runs through a sandy delta, the soil is different and so is the weather. Here they enjoy the far more temperate, balmy breezes of the Mediterranean coast near the famous French Riviera.
From either region, the trick to finding the ones you like lies in knowing your way around the French wine labels, which seem almost deliberately designed to confuse the casual American wine drinker. Whereas most American winemakers (cognizant of the importance of brand recognition) will place their winery's name, and the grape(s) used in prominent position on the label, the French are more concerned with appellation, or point of origin of the wine and will expect you to know, for example, that Côte-Rôtie will contain only Syrah (which local growers call "Sérine" just to confuse foreigners) and a little Viognier. The maker and even the vintage seem of lesser importance if judging purely by the layout of the label.Now as I said, the Rhône is divided. North and south, left and right, red and white. Although it is, in some respects, a very complicated region, it can be more easily grasped with these divisions in mind.
With the foothills of the Alps on the left (or east) bank, and the Massif Central (think central valley) on the right, the Rhône River is as wide and powerful as the Mississippi. The Rhône Valley is about 125 miles of arrow-straight river running from Lyon to the sea, but the climates are very different north to south. In the northern, cooler climes, the vines are planted on steep granite slopes. In the warmer south, they are on the wide valley floor. The most significant result of this is that in the north they produce primarily single-variety wines, and in the south, they blend many grapes in to cuvée.
Among the best known red wine appellations in the Northern Rhône are the Syrah-only Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage, although the Syrah grapes' popularity worldwide has led to increasing plantings in the south of the Valley as well. As for the white grapes, the preference leans strongly toward the flowery Viognier, which even now is used in other parts of the world as a blending grape with the Syrah, with some powerful results.
The food in the north shows influences from the sea and the mountains. Veal is popular and could go well with red or white wines, depending on your preparation and your mood. For this one, try a Viognier such as Chateau de Campuget 2006 (even though, admittedly, it's from the south). At $18 a bottle and $195 a case, it's a delicious summer accompaniment to this rich veal chop classic.
And by the way, there are sources for local, humanely raised veal. Around my neck of the woods, check with Nick Wallace at www.WallaceFarms.com.
COTES DE VEAU AU FROMAGE
4 veal chops 1½ inches thick
4 slices of ham
4 slices of Gruyere cheese
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
Breadcrumbs
Flour
1 lemon
Salt and pepper
Carefully cut a pouch lengthwise into the non-bone edge of the veal chops. Place a slice of ham and one slice of Gruyere into each pouch and fasten closed with a skewer.
Beat the eggs in a bowl large enough to fit one chop. Roll chops with flour, spice with salt and pepper, then roll in beaten eggs and then in breadcrumbs. Fry in butter over medium heat for about 10 minutes on both sides. Serve with lemon slices.
The most famous appellation in the Rhône valley is undoubtedly Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which means literally "new home of the Pope." It has a fascinating history in its own right, having been built in 1157 by the Knights Templar (yes, the guys from "The Da Vinci Code") on the site of a decisive battle between the Romans and the Gauls in 121 B.C. The Templars were "suppressed" by Pope Clement V, who subsequently moved the seat of the papacy to Avignon, and his successor, John XXII, built a castle just north of there.
The disagreements in the Catholic church would go on for centuries, but few would disagree about the quality of the vineyards in this picturesque part of the southern Rhône Valley. There are 13 grapes permitted by modern French wine laws to carry the Châteauneuf-du-Pape label, though mainly they blend some combination from among these eight: Bourboulenc, Cinsault, Clairette, Counoise, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Mucardin and Syrah.
Châteauneuf is unique in that it has quite a variety of soils and microclimates within a small area, and so the fragmented ownership of differing lands leads the winemakers to blend from many differing terroirs.
Among the best known in the U.S. is Château de Beaucastel. Owned by the Perrin family for five generations, they not only make three stunning examples of the Southern Rhône blending art, but also make two white wines from Roussanne, a flowery grape that loves poached white fish, and a blended white with a Côtes-du-Rhône Appelation called Coudoulet (after the vineyard), made of Marsanne, Viognier, Bourboulenc and Clairette.
It's those reds for which they are known though, and any of them would do well with the classic dish of Provence, Ratatouille, which in turn is the perfect dish for the bounty that overflows in our farmers markets right now.
RATATOUILLE
8 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 bay leaf
2 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced paper thin
12 basil leaves, rolled and sliced very thin
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 eggplant, diced
2 zucchini, diced
2/3 cup roasted red bell pepper, diced
2 carrots. peeled and diced
1 cup Niçoise or Kalamata olives, pitted
4 tablespoons capers
2/3 cup dry red wine
Salt and black pepper to taste
Toss the diced eggplant in kosher salt and let stand in a strainer over your sink for a half hour. Rinse and drain well.
Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and the bay leaf. When the bay leaf is brown, add the onion, carrot, garlic and herbs. Stir well and sauté 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggplant, basil, zucchini, and bell peppers, and saute until all the vegetables are tender (5 to 7 minutes), stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, olives and capers. Stir. Add the red wine and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately as a vegetable side dish or entree, or chill and serve as a cold salad.
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| Kurt Michael Friese, Gather Food Correspondent | ||||
Gather ‘Round the Table is a regular feature of Gather Essentials: Food. Chef Kurt Michael Friese is a freelance food & wine writer & photographer. He is also the co-owner - with his wife Kim - of Devotay, a restaurant in Iowa City, serves on the Slow Food USA Board of Directors, and is owner/publisher of the local food magazine Edible Iowa River Valley. His book, A Cook's Journey: Slow Food in the Heartland was released in the fall of 2008. He lives in rural Johnson County, Iowa. Keep up with Kurt Michael's food series by joining his network, or subscribing to his content. | ||||
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