Images of Rochegude
The Château de Rochegude in the heart of the village
Sandy soils of Rochegude near the Massif d'Uchaux
Domaine du Gourget
Vincent Baumet with his old bushvines on Rochegude garrigues terroir, closer to Suze-la-Rousse
Inside the Château de Rochegude
Images of Signargues
The galets roulés of Signargues, the same deposits as those found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape
They go on for ever
Jean-Marie Granier of Les Vignerons d'Estézargues, one of the best cave co-operatives in the Rhône
Labels, old and new (two single estate bottlings from Les Vignerons d'Estézargues in the foreground)
Francis Fabre of Domaine des Romarins and president of the appellation. In the background, the village of Domazan is to your left, Estézargues to your right.
Bundle of grubbed up vines on the plateau of Signargues. Trunk diseases such as esca are a problem here, as they are throughout the region
Cave co-operative Les Vignerons du Castellas
Images of Massif d'Uchaux
Eric Plumet of Domaine la Cabotte
Domaine la Cabotte
Biodynamic water dynamiser at Domaine la Cabotte
Sandstone and limestone soils towards the north of Massif d'Uchaux
Pebbly sand and clay lower slopes towards the south of Massif d'Uchaux
Jérôme Hue of Domaine La Mas de Casalas
Robert (l) and Paul (r) Charavin of Domaine des Coteaux des Travers in their new vineyard towards the east of the appellation
Images of Saint-Maurice
One of the few things the village of Saint-Maurice has in common with Hollywood
Stony hills and valleys of Saint-Maurice
Philippe Viret of Domaine Viret
Spherical planting at Domaine Viret
Amphorae and porcelain spheres used as fermenting vessels at Domaine Viret
Thibaud Chaume of Domaine Chaume-Arnaud (l) and Adrien Fabre of Domaine la Florane (r) - the only two private domaines now producing AOC Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Saint-Maurice. Both biodynamic.
Images of Roaix
Frosty morning in Roaix
Looking east over the village of Roaix to the Baronnies beyond
Pebbly red and yellow clays of Roaix
Damien Chave of Domaine du Bramadou at the top of the Ventabren massif, very pebbly soils
Franck Molénat, president of Cave co-operative Les Vignerons de Roaix Séguret
Elodie Balme of Domaine Elodie Balme
Pebbly clay soils of Roaix looking south east towards Séguret and the Dentelles de Montmirail
The Ouvèze river, swollen here by heavy autumn rains, marks the south-eastern boundary of Roaix
Images of Grignan-les-Adhémar
Château Bizard
The grounds of Château Bizard
Tanks and barrels in Château Bizard
Grignan-les-Adhémar vineyards with the Lafarge concrete works in the background
Garrigues vineyards in the northern part of the appellation
Henri Bour of Domaine de Grangeneuve, previous president of the appellation Grignan-les-Adhémar
Mélina Monteillet of Domaine de Montine
Alain Bayonne of Cave la Suzienne
Images of Saint-Gervais
Claire Clavel of Domaine Clavel, one of the few private estates bottling wine in AOC Saint-Gervais
Frédéric Sablayrolles, Director of Production at Celliers des Chartreux on the Soleillan plateau in Saint-Gervais. They bought the local cave co-operative in 2015 and now make one white and one red AOC Saint-Gervais.
Limestone soils of the Soleillan plateau, the smaller of the two high-quality plateaux in Saint-Gervais
Domaine Sainte-Anne, situated on the larger Cellettes plateau in Saint-Gervais
Jean Steinmaier of Domaine Sainte-Anne
Autumn sunset over the Cellettes plateau
Images of Suze-la-Rousse
The village of Suze-la-Rousse, Mont Ventoux in the background
The Château of Suze-la-Rousse, which now houses the Université du Vin
Flat, stony garrigues terroir of Suze-la-Rousse
Ann Vermeersch of LePlan-Vermeersch
Vincent Boyer of Domaine la Bastide and president of the appellation Suze-la-Rousse
Outcrops of sand at the north of the appellation
Raphaël Knapp of Domaine La Borie
Rémy (l) and Luc Bayon (r) of Domaine des Gravennes
Gilles Cotin, archive manager at the Université de Vin who is retiring this year. Thanks to Gilles and the Université de Vin for giving me access to their formidable library. The university trains the next generation of wine professional, from viticulture and winemaking to marketing and oenotourisme. It also has short courses open to consumers; check out their website for more details.
Images of Saint-Andéol
Philippe Faure, President of AOC Saint-Andéol, in vineyards overlooking one of its four communes, Saint-Marcel-d'Ardèche
Most of the soil in the appellation consists of galets roulés on hillsides. The winery with the cylindrical tower in the background is Domaine Saladin
Roland Terrasse of Château Rochecolombe
There is a small zone of clay limestone soil in AOC Saint-Andéol - these are the lower terraces at Château Rochecolombe...
... and these are the higher ones, where the limestone is closer to the surface
Frédéric Dorthe of Domaine du Chapitre
Looking towards the commune of Bourg-Saint-Andéol
Images of Rousset-les-Vignes and Saint-Pantaléon-les-Vignes
The little village of Saint-Pantaléon-les-Vignes
The massif de la Lance, marking the limit of the Côtes-du-Rhône growing area
Jean-François Julian (l), president of the Cave Saint-Pantaléon-les-Vignes, and Philippe Barral (r) a member of the cave
Philippe's vineyard, 400m up in the clay limestone hillsides of Saint-Pantaléon, with the Lance massif in cloud
Bruno Gigondan of Domaine Gigondan, one of the two producers to bottle AOC Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Saint-Pantaléon-les-Vignes, along with the cave co-op
Neighbouring Rousset-les-Vignes
Sandstone soils of Rousset-les-Vignes, known locally as 'safre'
Wild thyme growing on safre
Belgian Jean T'Kint of Domaine la Banate, one of the three producers of AOC Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Rousset-les-Vignes
Stéphane Barnaud of Domaine la Bouvade, the second producer of AOC Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Rousset-les-Vignes (the third is the cave co-op)
A refreshing glass of Côtes-du-Rhône rosé from by the Saint-Pantaléon-les-Vignes cave co-op at L'Auberge in Saint-Pantaléon