Grignan-les-Adhémar AOC

AOC area on the left bank of the southern section of the Rhône. On the opposite right bank is the Côtes du Vivarais AOC area. Until the 2009 vintage, the area was called Coteaux du Tricastin; the new name is a combination of the municipality of Grignan in the Département of Drôme and the Renaissance château of Adhémar. The reason for this name change was a sharp drop in sales following several accidents at the Tricastin nuclear power plant in July 2008, which also resulted in uranium contamination of the soil. The vineyards cover almost 2,600 hectares of vines in 22 municipalities on the left bank of the Rhône from La Baume-de-Transit to Les Granges-Gontardes in the Département of Vaucluse. A wine route over 100 kilometres long runs through the region.

Towards the end of the 19th century, viticulture almost came to a standstill with the clearing of many areas and was only revitalised in the 1960s by winegrowers returning from Algeria. Red wines are produced to 85%, which, like the rosé wines, are blended from 10 to max. 80% of the two main varieties Grenache Noir (Garnacha Tinta) and Syrah, as well as Carignan Noir (Mazuelo), Cinsaut and Mourvèdre (Monastrell). The white wines are produced from a maximum of 60% Grenache Blanc (Garnacha Blanca), Roussanne, Clairette, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier. Well-known producers are Chapoutier, Château la Décelle, Domaine de d'Elyssas, Domaine de Grangeneuve, Domaine Pierre Labeye, Domaine de Montine and Domaine Saint-Luc.