Vacqueyras Rhône Valley Wine Pairing

After a long year and a half, our good friends and neighbours Ursula and Bob returned to the neighbourhood from their other home is in upstate New York, in the Catskill Mountains. It’s nice to have them back.

We had them over to dinner to celebrate their return and wanted to share a bottle of wine I purchased — a 2016 Vacqueryas from Paul Jaboulet Aîné.

Winery: Paul Jaboulet Aîné
Cuvée: Les Cyprès
Appellation: Vacqueyras, Southern Rhône
Type: Red
Vintage: 2016
Grape Varieties: Grenache 75%, Syrah 20%, Mourvèdre 5%

Continue reading for my tasting notes on this food and wine pairing for Provence WineZine. The wine was excellent and well-matched with the braised oxtail that I made.

Rhône Valley Wine

As the river valley widens and the steep slopes give way to rolling hills, you have arrived in the Southern Rhône Valley. Encompassing vast geography, the Southern Rhône eclipses the north with 95% of the total production. Many more grape varietals are grown, although each AOC dictates the types and amounts permitted within the guidelines. Except for Châteauneuf-du-Pape, most of these appellations include rosé production.

Côtes du Rhône (South):
Beaumes de Venise
Cairanne
Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Côtes du Luberon
Côtes du Ventoux
Coteaux de Pierrevert
Grignan les Adhémar
Gigondas
Lirac
Tavel
Rasteau
Vacqueyras

Susan Newman Manfull

It was love at first sight when my family and I arrived in the charming village of Lourmarin for a short vacation, nearly 20 years ago. We returned home to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and the next thing I knew we were planning a much longer sojourn in that village and making arrangements to enrol our daughter in the local school there. That led to buying a maison de village— actually two, then a courtyard, a parking spot, and a bergerie— in our favourite Provençal village where we (readily) adopted that certain joie de vivre, established dear friendships, and, to this day, endeavour to blend in with the crowd at Café Gaby.

We no longer own property in Lourmarin, but we continue to hang our hats there frequently and gather fodder for our souls and for The Modern Trobaors and Provence WineZine. There is never a shortage.

The Modern Trobaors , conceived in 2008, is about all things Provence: its markets, hilltop villages, lavender, art, literature, culture, history, food, wine, and news. Provence WineZine, launched in August 2014, focuses on wines from the regions of Provence and the Southern Rhône Valley—with a special emphasis on Provence's world-renowned rosés—and the men and women who make them.