If you are studying wine or just love learning, this is your home base for smart, friendly study help. I keep it clear, useful, and welcoming so you actually look forward to it.
Each Tuesday you'll get
Level 2 multiple choice questions you can answer in minutes
Level 3 essay prompts with simple pointers on where to aim
Class news, events, and trip updates
Short quizzes and tasting tips to keep skills sharp
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Host: Joanne Close
Focus: A clear overview of the Rhône and a practical explainer on the Mistral wind. This is a Level 3 essential that often appears on exams, and a helpful frame for Level 2 students before you study North and South separately.
Where the Rhône sits
From just south of Lyon down to the borders with Languedoc and Provence
Pre-Alps to the east, Massif Central to the west
Latitude 44–45, similar to Oregon's Willamette Valley
Production snapshot
About 75% red, 16% rosé, 9% white
Roughly 95% of total volume comes from the Southern Rhône
Appellations you will see
Côtes du Rhône AOC (1937) applies across North and South, used mostly in the South
Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC (1960) applies only in the South, with 95 named villages
North vs South
Different grapes, climate, soils, and training systems
Unified by the Rhône River and the Mistral
What it is
A cold, dry north wind driven by pressure differences that accelerates down the valley
How strong it can get
Often 30–45 mph, gusts can exceed 60 mph
Recorded at 72 mph on April 6, 2003, just below Category 1 hurricane strength
When it shows up
Most common in winter and early spring
Often arrives with clear blue skies because the air is very dry
Why it helps and hurts
Helps: dries leaves and bunches, lowers disease pressure, supports organic viticulture
Hurts: can shatter flowers at fruit set and reduce yields, can break shoots or damage vines
Northern Rhône
Choose sites in lateral valleys to reduce exposure
Steep, terraced, south to southeast aspects for heat and light
Individual stakes or teepee stakes to anchor Syrah against the wind
Southern Rhône
Fewer natural wind breaks, so plant windbreaks and use careful trellising
Grenache is bush trained low to the ground for protection and soil warmth
Syrah is more wind sensitive and benefits from strong trellis support
Level 3: be ready to explain the Mistral's cause, timing, benefits, risks, and the training choices that respond to it. Know where Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages fit on labels.
Level 2: use this overview to organize your thinking before studying the Northern and Southern Rhône in detail.
A focused episode on the Northern Rhône
A focused episode on the Southern Rhône
Newsletter extras for all levels, including a Level 3 essay prompt and Level 2 quizzes for both North and South
If you are studying wine or just love learning, this is your home base for smart, friendly study help. I keep it clear, useful, and welcoming so you actually look forward to it.
Each Tuesday you'll get
Level 2 multiple choice questions you can answer in minutes
Level 3 essay prompts with simple pointers on where to aim
Class news, events, and trip updates
Short quizzes and tasting tips to keep skills sharp
Join us here: www.wineeducate.com/newsletter-signup
