A little bit of a primer on the Rhone for those who aren’t as familiar.  In the Rhone, like all of France, the grapes grown in the area are government controlled or recommended.  The red Rhone varietals are Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre, with Syrah predominant in the Northern Rhone and Grenache in the Southern Rhone.

We introduced a Rhone varietal in our Entrepreneur Circle wine club last month.  The Central Coast of California is becoming known as the best place in the U.S. for these grapes to thrive.  Each of our spotlighted wines today are from these appellations, primarily Paso Robles, CA. For those customers outside of CA or who have not had a chance to try these varietals, you’re in for a treat.  The Rockstars I mentioned earlier are quickly being recognized as top class performers in this category.  Names like Saxum, Booker, Linne Calodo, Epoch, Denner are known for producing world class wines and typically garner ratings of 95 or higher from the Wine Advocate.  With less tannins than Cabernet Sauvignon these wines are more approachable in their youth and are enjoyable sipping on a Spring afternoon without a heavy pairing for softening.  If you’ve never enjoyed a GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) or another blend of these grapes, I encourage you to sample one of the best California examples from top producers.