GG_N50_FR

RHONE VALLEY
TRAVEL
PEBBLES STORE UP HEAT DURING THE DAY AND RADIATE IT BACK OVER NIGHT,
EXPEDITING FRUIT RIPENING
An undisputed standard-bearer worldwide, Châteauneuf-du-Pape has
a history of winegrowing dating back to the Roman Empire. The area
truly gained its prestige though at the turn of the 14 th century when the
Bordeaux Pope Clement V recognised the genuine quality of its vineyard
sites. His successor, Pope John XXII, bestowed upon it the status of ‘Wine
of Popes’. Served at the Pope’s table in the palace of Avignon, it enjoyed
recognition that went far beyond national borders. After the phylloxera
crisis that devastated vineyards in 1866, Baron Le Roy de Boiseaumarié,
owner of Château Fortia, along with local winegrowers, set in motion the
process that would culminate in the official creation of France’s first AOC
for the production of red and white wines in 1936, cementing the future
for high quality wines. Swept up in the same movement, the neighbouring
area of Tavel was also promoted to appellation status, but only for rosé
wines. Lirac would be singled out for distinction a few years later, in 1947,
but for all three colours of wine. What the three AOCs have in common is
their generous sunny Mediterranean climate and the strong influence of
the Mistral, the blustery, dry wind hailing from the North of the Rhone
WINTER 2022 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE
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