There’s No Place Like Rhone for Great Reds

Posted by Bottle Report on Jan 16th, 2010 in Dennis Sodomka, Event Coverage, Featured Articles | 0 comments

Event: Wines of the Southern Rhône with Sally and Dick Benjamin. Sally led the group through the wonderful wines while giving lessons in history, religion and politics of the region. It was a most entertaining evening. The tasters even got pronunciation lessons from a native Frenchman who was there, Charles Combier.

Dick and Sally say, “We love the wines of the southern Rhône and look forward to a wonderful evening sharing this selection of outstanding wines with you. The wines from the southern part of the Rhône River Valley are mostly blends. We’ll discuss the grapes used in the blends, the history and the terroir of this fascinating area.”
Nine wines were tasted, ranging in price from $13 to $53, and the crowd agreed they were all wonderful. There was only one white wine because only 3% of the grapes planted in the Rhone are white. There were several wines from the 2007 vintage, which is considered an exceptionally fine vintage in the Rhone. Most of the reds probably can age 6-8 years. There also were three cheeses (Boursin, goat gouda and Gruyere), French bread and sliced roast beef.

Where: Wine World, 133 Georgia Ave., North Augusta, SC
When: Friday, January 15, 2010, 7:30pm
Cost: Members $ 32 per person. Non-members $ 38 per person.