The Wines of the Northern Rhone

Book excerpt: For anyone who wants to understand the full story that lies within a glass of wine, this book opens up the inner secrets of the geology, the vineyards, the wines, and the growers of the northern Rhône Valley in France. Home to the spicy Syrah, or Shiraz, and the floral Viognier grapes, the northern Rhône Valley is one of France's oldest wine-growing regions; its appellations include Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Crozes-Hermitage, St-Joseph, and Château-Grillet. With evocative descriptions and marvelous insights, this accessible, elegant book, the culmination of more than thirty years following the Rhône, is a comprehensive and authoritative survey of the various estates, winemakers, and their wines. Taking a deeper look at the northern Rhône than Livingstone-Learmonth's highly regarded previous volumes on the Rhône Valley, this revised and up-to-date edition covers more producers and includes more in-depth information on the various terroirs, the histories of the wines, and the methods for making the wines. Livingstone-Learmonth concentrates on letting the producers explain their outlook and methods and includes much local color. The Wines of the Northern Rhône includes * Assessments of thousands of wines, with guide dates onwhen to drink and how long to age them * Winemakers' views on what foods best accompany their wines * New vineyard maps for each appellation * Detailed descriptions by growers discussing the effect of different soils on their wines * Precise information on how each domaine makes its wines * New research on the historical links between Hermitage and Bordeaux