Northern Rhone

Question 1

What is the main river of the Rhone Valley?

Answer 1

Rhone River

Question 2

What is the climate of the Northern Rhone?

Answer 2

Moderate, Continental

Question 3

What makes the best sites found in the Northern Rhone? (4)

Answer 3

Close to the river
Steep slopes
South-facing aspect
Positioned in lateral valleys

Question 4

Why are the best sites typically found in lateral valleys off the Rhone River?

Answer 4

Protection from the Mistral

Question 5

What are vines supported by in the Northern Rhone?

Answer 5

Single stakes or a teepee-like arrangement

Question 6

What is the only black variety permitted in the Northern Rhone?

Answer 6

Syrah

Question 7

What is significant about the relationship between Syrah and the Northern Rhone’s latitude?

Answer 7

It’s the upper limit for where Syrah can fully ripen

Question 8

Aside from black fruit, what aromas might a quality Syrah exhibit?

Answer 8

Floral and black pepper aromas

Question 9

Is oak always used in the Rhone?

Answer 9

No

Question 10

Why was Syrah traditionally co-fermented with white grapes? (2)

Answer 10

To stabilise colour extraction and add aroma intensity

Question 11

Almost all wines are from one of the 6 crus in the Northern Rhone. What would a wine from outside these crus be theoretically labelled as?

Answer 11

Cote du Rhone

Question 12

What are the 6 crus of the Northern Rhone from top to bottom?

Answer 12

Cote Rotie
Condrieu
Saint-Joseph
Crozes-Hermitage
Hermitage
Cornas

Question 13

Which 3 crus are red wine only? What percentage of the wines can be white grapes and which grapes are allowed in each cru?

Answer 13

Cote Rotie - 20% Viognier allowed
Hermitage - 15% Marsanne/Roussanne
Cornas - 100% Syrah baby

Question 14

What sets Cote Rotie reds apart from Hermitage reds?

Answer 14

Floral freshness and textural elegance

Question 15

What does Cote Rotie loosely translate to? What feature of it’s geography might lend itself to this?

Answer 15

Roasted Slope

South-facing aspect

Question 16

What general area of the Northern Rhone does Saint-Jospeh cover?

Answer 16

Western Bank of the Rhone River

Question 17

Where might you find wines comparable to Hermitage reds in Saint-Joseph?

Answer 17

Near Tournon (across the river from Hermitage)

Question 18

Aside from near Tournon, where might you find excellent quality wines in Saint-Joseph?

Answer 18

Just south of Condrieu

Question 19

What wine-making technique is used in the production of large-volume, relatively light bodied wines from Saint-Joseph? Where might you find grapes destined for these wines?

Answer 19

Some Carbonic Maceration

Vineyards on the valley floor or on the plateau above the protected slopes

Question 20

What aroma is typical of Saint-Joseph reds?

Answer 20

Pepper

Question 21

What grapes are used in the production of Saint-Joseph white wines?

Answer 21

Marsanne and Roussanne

Question 22

What grapes are in the single vineyard appellation Chateau-Grillet? Where is this and what wines are they comparable to?

Answer 22

Viognier

Within Condrieu and Condrieu

Question 23

What cru of the Northern Rhone is the town Tournon relevant to? What are vineyards like here? What are the wines from near here comparable to?

Answer 23

Saint-Joseph
Terraced vineyards
Hermitage

Question 24

What are some characteristics of Viognier? (body, aromas [2], acidity, alcohol)

Answer 24

Full bodied
Blossom and Apricot
Low acidity
High alcohol

Question 25

When in the season would Viognier typically develop it's signature aromas?

Answer 25

Late

Question 26

When Viognier is over-handled in the winery, what character might develop?

Answer 26

Oily character

Question 27

What does Marsanne bring to the blend? | What does Roussanne bring to the blend?

Answer 27

Richness and weight for Marsanne | Acidity and perfumed fruit from Rousanne

Question 28

What character might develop in a Marsanne-Roussanne blend with age?

Answer 28

Hazelnut

Question 29

What character might develop in a Marsanne-Roussanne blend with age?

Answer 29

Hazelnut

Question 30

What is the name of the named sites that Hermitage is divided into?

Answer 30

Lieux-dits

Question 31

What is significant about the various Lieux-dits? What was traditionally done with wines from these areas? What is increasingly common?

Answer 31

Varying soil types and aspects | Traditionally blended but increasingly wines are produced from single lieux-dits

Question 32

Where might you find the most full-bodied examples of Syrah in the Northern Rhone?

Answer 32

Hermitage

Question 33

In two words (hyphen allowed) describe vineyards behind Tain-l'Hermitage.

Answer 33

Steep | South-facing

Question 34

Which are of the Northern Rhone produces the most wine by volume?

Answer 34

Crozes Hermitage

Question 35

Where would you find lighter, high-yield wines in Crozes Hermitage? Where would you find more concentrated wines?

Answer 35

Lighter wines from flatter sites in the south | More concentrated from the hills in the north

Question 36

Which region is by far the warmest in the Northern Rhone?

Answer 36

Cornas

Question 37

What must wines be made from in Cornas?

Answer 37

100% Syrah

Question 38

What are wines from Cornas comparable to?

Answer 38

Hermitage

Question 39

What allows for the sheltering of vineyards in Cornas?

Answer 39

Positioning on lateral valleys

Question 40

Which three regions in the Northern Rhone can make white wine?

Answer 40

Condrieu St-Joseph Crozes Hermitage