{"id":3048,"date":"2014-02-24T16:57:41","date_gmt":"2014-02-24T21:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=3048"},"modified":"2021-12-10T14:59:17","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T19:59:17","slug":"red-alert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/red-alert\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheese + Wine: Rh\u00f4ne Reds"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have never been colder than I was during one February I spent in France\u2019s Rh\u00f4ne. There was a frigid, constant wind whipping down the river\u2014the mistral\u2014and a general lack of robust indoor heating. There were nights I spent in a cold-water flat with a straw-filled mattress and a single, bare lightbulb that didn\u2019t work. But there were also the most inviting, warming reds I\u2019d ever tasted.<\/p>\n

Certainly the situation heightened their attributes\u2014who wouldn\u2019t have wanted a drink?\u2014but my fondness for Rh\u00f4ne reds has never faded. The ones from north of Tain l\u2019Hermitage (where there\u2019s a bridge arching over the Rh\u00f4ne River, a giant hill revered for the reds grown on it, and the Valrhona chocolate factory) are mostly all made from Syrah grapes, which yield plummy, deeply flavored reds with black pepper and licorice notes.<\/p>\n

Move south from Tain, and as the river widens out and the banks become flatter, the climate turns from continental to Mediterranean\u2014a difference I appreciated that February. Syrah gives way to a bunch of other red wine grapes in these parts, most notably Grenache but also Mourv\u00e8dre, Carignan, Cinsault, and some even lesser known varieties.<\/p>\n

These reds also tend to be rich and spicy, but trade in the purple fruit flavors for sunnier, more reddish tones (Grenache in particular tends to taste like cherries), and their tannins loosen their grip. While the northern end of the Rh\u00f4ne boasts the most vaunted appellations (C\u00f4te-R\u00f4tie, Hermitage, Cornas), the southern has its own coveted sites (Ch\u00e2teauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras).<\/p>\n

More importantly for those of us with limited budgets and a thirst for warming reds, the south also serves the very important
\nfunction of filling most C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne bottles. These are some of the friendliest, well-priced reds around: fruity but not over the top; tannic enough to appreciate a piece of red meat or a dense cheese but not demanding of one; rich but not heavy, with spicy notes and bright acidity that keep them mouthwatering rather than palate coating.<\/p>\n

Some append the word \u201cVillages,\u201d or even the name of a specific village, to their name, denoting that the grapes that went into them come from land deemed better for grape growing than other parcels around it and that they were subject to stricter controls in growing and winemaking. But even at the basic level, a good C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne is a terrific glass of red, the sort you might wish for in a bistro to go with your steak frites, lardon-laden salad, or pig\u2019s trotters, breaded and fried to crisp, golden perfection.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, fried pig\u2019s trotters are in short supply on this side of the Atlantic. But I\u2019ve found a grilled cheese sandwich does the trick. Think about it: The dishes share core values (thrift and a strong belief in the magic of butter and heat) and make similar demands in the wine department (something that can cut through the richness yet match the robust flavor). Both are one part sophisticated, golden, and sumptuous; the other, basic country food, simple and pretension-free.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve found Rh\u00f4nes to do the job well with everything from a creamy, tangy goat cheese to a pungent Scharfe Maxx sandwich. But my favorite remains straight-up cheddar or an aged, sweet-edged cow like Consider Bardwell\u2019s Rupert, eaten in a thick bathrobe on a cold night with a generous glass of this red. That\u2019s how to enjoy winter.<\/p>\n

Recommended Rh\u00f4nes<\/h3>\n

Domaine de Ch\u00e2teaumar<\/strong> 2010 C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne Cuv\u00e9e Vincent Syrah($16; Bourgeois Family Selections, Asheville, NC)<\/p>\n

La Coterie<\/strong> 2009 C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne S\u00e9guret ($16; Cordon Selections, Seattle, WA)<\/p>\n

Ch\u00e2teau Husson<\/strong> 2009 C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne Les Saumades ($15; Valkyrie Selections, San Francisco, CA)<\/p>\n

E. Guigal<\/strong> 2009 C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne ($15; ExCellars Wine Agencies, Cambridge, MA)<\/p>\n

Alain Jaume & Fils<\/strong> 2010 C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne R\u00e9serve Grand Veneur ($15; Kysela P\u00e8re et Fils, Winchester, VA)<\/p>\n

Kermit Lynch<\/strong> 2009 C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne ($15; Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, San Francisco, CA)<\/p>\n

Perrin et Fils<\/strong> 2009 C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne Villages ($15; Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)<\/p>\n

Ch\u00e2teau du Trignon<\/strong> 2007 C\u00f4tes du Rh\u00f4ne Sablet ($22, David Milligan Selections, Sagaponack, NY)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To warm up this winter, look for wines from the Rh\u00f4ne<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[572,149],"coauthors":[141,329],"class_list":["post-3048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cheese-pairings","tag-cheese-and-drinks-2","tag-wine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCheese + Wine: Rh\u00f4ne Reds - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/red-alert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cheese + Wine: Rh\u00f4ne Reds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To warm up this winter, look for wines from the Rh\u00f4ne\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/red-alert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"culture: the word on cheese\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/grantgbradley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-02-24T21:57:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-10T19:59:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/rhone_featured.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"505\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tara Q. 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