The Rhone Rangers are a group of American winemakers who promote the use of

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry (botany), berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non-Climacteric (botany), climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of ...

varieties from the Rhône Valley. They are mostly based on the West Coast, particularly

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, and have created a

not-for-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

for the promotion of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

s containing at least 75% of the 22 Rhône

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Vit ...

. The name is a pun on ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in ...

'', and was coined by ''

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertai ...

'' to describe

Randall Grahm Randall Grahm is a Californian winemaker and the founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard. He is perhaps best known for his pioneering work with Rhone varieties in California and for popularizing the use of screw caps on premium wines. He was an early ...

for their 1989 April 15 issue, which featured Grahm dressed as the Lone Ranger under the title "The Rhône Ranger" (singular). The name was subsequently used for other winemakers. Originally formed in the 1980s, without the name and with no formal structure or organization, the group disbanded in the early 1990s. It was revived again in the late 1990s and is considered a catalyst in making

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeus ...

more prevalent in

Californian wine California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In ...

. The structure is loosely based on that of the ZAP, which has been successful in promoting

Zinfandel Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kašte ...

in the industry. Today its membership also includes wineries from

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washingto ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

.Rhone Rangers
February 2012

History

In the 1980s,

of Bonny Doon Vineyard, Joseph Phelps of Joseph Phelps Winery, John MacCready of Sierra Vista Winery, Bill Crawford of McDowell Valley Vineyards, Fred Cline of Cline Cellars Winery, Steve Edmunds of

Edmunds St. John Edmunds may refer to: People *Edmunds (given name) *Edmunds (surname) Places * Edmunds Center, an arena in Deland, Florida * Edmunds County, South Dakota Companies * Edmunds (company), provider of automotive information See also * Edmonds (d ...

and Bob Lindquist of Qupé Wine Cellars, among others, began popularizing the marketing of the Rhône

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

s. Their success helped to revive plantings of many traditional Rhône grapes that were dying out in California like

Grenache Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world.Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...

, Mourvedre and

Viognier Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 754 Oxford University Press 2006 Outside of the Rh ...

. Syrah also saw a dramatic increase in plantings after Gary Eberle, then with Estrella River Winery (now

Meridian Vineyards Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

) planted it in Paso Robles and made available the clone he used to other interested growers. Beginning around 1990, a second wave of innovation in the Rhone Rangers movement began, which included investment and grapevine cuttings from the Rhone itself, as

Château de Beaucastel Château de Beaucastel is a winery located in the southern part of the Rhône valley in France, which is primarily noted for its Châteauneuf du Pape wines produced in a long-lived style.

entered into a partnership with American wine importer Robert Haas to found

Tablas Creek Vineyard Tablas Creek Vineyard is a California wine estate producing various Rhône-style blends and varietal wine. The winery is located in the Adelaida district west of Paso Robles in the Santa Lucia Mountains, within the Paso Robles AVA. It is an exem ...

in Paso Robles. Tablas Creek imported new clones of many of the 13 varieties allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, including Grenache blanc,

Counoise Counoise is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. Counoise is also grown in California, New Jersey, and Washington. Counoise adds a peppery note and good acidity to a blended red wine, but does not have ...

, and

Picpoul blanc Piquepoul, Picpoul, or Picapoll is a variety of wine grape grown primarily in the Rhone Valley and Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in ...

that had never before been used in California and made the clones available to other vineyards. Other key innovators in this newer phase of development included Alban Vineyards,

Domaine de la Terre Rouge An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner. British context In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...

, Unti Vineyards and

Zaca Mesa Winery Zaca may refer to: *Huehue Zaca, a 15th-century Aztec noble and a warrior *The Zaca Fire, the second largest wildfire in modern California history * Zaca Creek, an American country music group *Zaca Creek, a tributary of the Santa Ynez River *Zac ...

, many of whom also imported their own clones.

Styles

While Northern Rhone wines are often monovarietal, Southern Rhône wines are almost always blends. Rhone Rangers wineries produce both varietal wines and blends depending on their stylistic preferences.http://www.rhonerangers.org/grapes/ Rhone Rangers Web site: "The 22 Rhone Rangers Grapes" Principal styles of red wines are: *" Châteauneuf-du-Pape" - (also known as GSM) various proportions of Grenache (for fruit and acidity), Syrah (for dark color, spice, and mineral) and Mourvedre (for tannin and structure), occasionally rounded out with minor amounts of other varieties to give complexity. *"Northern Rhone" - Syrah either 100% or blended with small amounts of Viognier. *Varietal - Grenache and Mourvedre, rarely found on their own in the Old World, are often produced as varietals by Rhone Rangers winemakers. *"Hot weather" - Grenache,

Cinsault Cinsaut or Cinsault ( ) is a red wine grape whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and ...

and

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Medite ...

in varying proportions for early drinking. *"

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

" - Syrah and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Leban ...

Principal styles of white wines are: *Varietal - The white Rhone varieties Viognier,

Marsanne Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known as ' ...

and

Roussanne Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermita ...

, and increasingly Grenache blanc are produced as monovarietal wines by Rhone Rangers winemakers. *" Hermitage Blanc" - Marsanne-Roussanne is the classic Northern Rhone blend for whites. *"Châteauneuf-du-Pape" - Blends based on Roussanne and Grenache blanc, often with additions of other white Rhone varieties.

Grape varieties

The main red varieties used in Rhône Rangers wine are

Mourvèdre Mourvèdre (also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world including the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla and Yecla '' denominaciones de origen'' (DOs) of ...

Muscardin Muscardin is a dark-skinned grape variety primarily found in the southern part of the Rhône region. It is primarily noted for being one of the thirteen grape varieties permitted in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation. It is a very rare varie ...

, Piquepoul Noir, Terret noir and Vaccarèse. Durif is a grape from southwest

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, widely grown in California as Petite Sirah and is permitted in Rhone Rangers wines. In 2002, after DNA testing by ampelographers showed that Durif was a cross between

Peloursin Peloursin is red French wine grape variety best known for crossing with Syrah to make the red wine grape Durif (known in the United States as Petite Sirah).J. Robinson ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 510 Oxford University ...

and the popular Rhône grape Syrah,

Petite Sirah Durif is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in Australia, California, France, and Israel. Since the end of the 20th century, wineries located in Washington's Yakima River Valley, Maryland, Arizona, Texas, West Virginia, Chile, Mexic ...

was officially voted in as a member of the Rhône Ranger varieties. The main white varieties are Bourboulenc, Clairette blanc, Grenache blanc,

, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains,

Picardin Picardan or Picardan blanc is a white wine grape which is one of 13 permitted blending grapes within the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC in Rhône wine region in France, although very little planted. The Vitis International Variety Catalogue previous ...

, Picpoul blanc,

Ugni blanc Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it ...

and

The Rhone Rangers Organization

The Rhone Rangers is based in

Paso Robles, California Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles ( Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River approximately north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its h ...

and includes winery, grower, associate and consumer members. Its mission statement is "advancing the knowledge and enjoyment of Rhone wines produced in America". It organizes trade and consumer tastings, seminars and dinners around the United States. In recent years these tastings have visited San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington, DC and New York. There are also local chapters in

Paso Robles Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish language, Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River (California), Sal ...

, Santa Barbara,

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or kin ...

and the North Coast.

Notes and references

External links

Official website
{{Wines Wine terminology Wine merchants