Grapes of the Rhone Valley (mostly)

Mourvèdre (more-vehd-ruh), with its meaty richness and wonderful longevity, forms the backbone of our Esprit de Beaucastel. Twenty-one acres of our vineyard are devoted to Mourvèdre, representing the largest acreage of any of our grapes and over a third of our red Châteauneuf-du-Pape varieties. Early History Mourvèdre is native to

Picpoul Blanc (also spelled Piquepoul Blanc) is one of the lesser-known Rhône varietals, but one that we think has a tremendous future in California. It is one of the thirteen permitted varietals in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where it is used primarily as a blending component to take advantage of its acidity. Like

Perhaps the grape question we hear most frequently at wine events and in our tasting room is “Counoise? What’s Counoise?” Even the Wall Street Journal joked a few years ago about Counoise’s obscurity in an article about blends. Yet the grape is a component of many Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines,