We attended our first Rhone Rangers Wine Tasting.  Jon Martinez, the winemaker at Maison Bleue Winery, invited us to this event. This particular wine tasting held in Seattle, Washington July 13 & 14 was for media and winemakers. The Rhone Rangers also hold wine tastings throughout the country that are open to the public.

The purpose of the Rhone Rangers is to focus on the Rhone varieties. Twenty-two grape varieties are included in this group. Some of the better know grapes are Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Viognier and Roussanne. Other more unusual grapes include Picpoul Noir, Terret Noir, Picardin and Ugni Blanc.

The Rhone Rangers organization is nationwide with wineries from California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington to Virginia belonging to it. Represented at the Seattle tasting were five Washington wineries, one Idaho winery,  twenty-two California wineries and two Oregon wineries.

We enjoyed talking with many of the winemakers who were enthusiastic about the Rhone varietal wines they are producing. Our only wish is that more of the unusual Rhone varietals would have been showcased but maybe we’ll come across them one day.

To learn more about the Rhone Rangers, visit their website at http://www.rhonerangers.org/.

Terry also wrote an article about the Rhone Rangers for the Wine Trail Traveler site. This article can be viewed at http://winetrailtraveler.com/opinion/columnists/rhonerangers.php

Cheers! Kathy