Côtes du Rhône Provence Wine Region Chateauneuf du Pape
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Cote du Rhone wine is more notable than the Châteauneuf du Pape in the red
blend although whites are available.
If you are heading north from Avignon, Châteauneuf du Pape will be about 16 km
reach Orange.  Wine tastings are abundant among the 55 vineyards producing
wine in the Châteauneuf du Pape area.  
Pape in the name Châteauneuf du Pape refers to the French Popes of the 12
Century who from 1309 to 1378 had their headquarters in Avignon rather than
Rome and had summer quarters in Châteauneuf du Pape.
The Provence Wine Region of Chateauneuf du Pape still produces the famous Cote du Rhone wine but the
buildings that once were summer homes to the French Popes have fallen to ruin.
Visit the ruins North of Avignon where Chateauneuf du Pape will be on the east side of the Rhone River
before you reach Orange.
Rhone River, in the distance in the above photo.
The Provence Wine Region of Chateauneuf du Pape is
clay soils and produces several wines called Cote du
Rhone with
Chateauneuf du Pape being one of the
favorites of the Cotes du Rhone wines.   
The Chateauneuf du Pape wine is a blend of as many as
thirteen red and white grape varieties including Grenache
and Syrah.
The Provence Wine Region of Chateauneuf du Pape is
notable for the Cote du Rhone wine, Chateauneuf du
Pape, a blend of the Syrah grape indigenous to the
region and the Grenache, a Spanish or Sardinian import.
The Provence Wine Region of Chateauneuf
du Pape became well know as the summer the
Popes.
A ruined castle is
all that remains
of the 1333 the
seven French
Popes who
headquartered in
Avignon from
1309 to 1378.
Several of the
Avignon Bishops
owned estate in
the area where
they produced
wine.
The Provence Wine
Region of
Chateauneuf du
Pape is home to 55
tasting cellars
The Provence Wine Region of Chateauneuf du Pape offers wine cellars
and tasting tours and a wine museum displaying wine making tools
dating to the 16th Century.
The Cotes du Rhone Provence Wine Region
includes Chateauneuf du Pape, a region on
the banks of the Rhone River and a wine
made famous by the 12th Century French
Popes.
The Côtes du Rhône Wine Region of which Chateauneuf du Pape is a small
section in the south, stretches from Lyon in the north to below Avignon in the
south.  The Rhone valley ends at the Rhone River Delta and the Mediterranean
Sea.
The northern section of Cotes du Rhone includes Vienne on the west side of the
Rhone River south of Lyon to Valence north of Montelimar.
The southern portion of Côtes du Rhône includes Montelimar to just below
Avignon and includes Chateauneuf du Pape, 16 km north of Avignon.
The southern portion of Cotes du Rhone extends deeply into Provence to the
east along the Durance River.
The Rhone River valley was one of the earliest wine regions in France and it was the Romans who
established the area as a wine region.  They used the river to ship wine and grains south to the seaports
as they established provincial centers in Arles, Avignon, St Remy, Orange, and Nimes.
Côte Rôtie, a blend of syrah and Voignier,  was one of the earliest Cote du Rhone wines.  This wine of the
Northern Rhone was exported by the Romans who found the indigenous people using the Syrah grape, a
red variety indigenous to the region, when they arrived in 300 BC.
The Voignier, a white grape, is an ancient import to the region.  
The Cotes du Rhone Wine, Chateauneuf du Pape is a blended wine and can
include 13 grape varieties, Grenache Noir being one of the more predominant.  
The Grenache vine is thought to have originated in Spain or Sardinia but now is
the fourth most popular vine grown in France.  The Grenache vine is wind tolerant
and this is important along the Rhone Valley and Provence where the Mistral
winds can be heavy and constant.
Another grape of the blend, the Syrah, is an indigenous vine grown in Roman
times.  
One other grape often in the blend is Mourvèdre, an ancient vine that goes back
to Phoenician times and came to France through Spain.
The Cotes du Rhone  
Wine Region includes
Chateauneuf du Pape in
Provence, a region on
the banks of the Rhone
River and a wine made
famous by the 12th
Century French Popes.
Additional Wine Information
http://www.terroir-france.com/wine/cdr_info.htm