Opening the Gates to the World of Northern Rhône wines
Northern Rhône, Gateway to the South of France
The Rhône Valley is one of France’s oldest wine regions, shaped by centuries of viticulture along the river that bears its name. In the Northern Rhône, vineyards were planted on steep granite and schist slopes as early as Roman times, where the terrain demanded manual labor and a deep understanding of the land.
Syrah found its most authentic expression in these hillsides. Grown onn arrow terraces supported by dry-stone walls, the grape produces wines of structure, tension, and aromatic complexity. The difficulty of working these slopes naturally limits yields and reinforces aviti culture focused on precision rather than volume.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, phylloxera, ruralde population, and the physical challenge of farming such terrain brought the vineyard close to abandonment. The survival of the Northern Rhône depended on the determination of a small number of growers who gradually reclaimed the slopes, restoring the vineyards vine by vine.
This revival led to the recognition of some of France’s most celebrated appellations, including Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Cornas and Condrieu. These crus are defined not only by terroir, but by their extremely small surface area: Côte-Rôtie spans barely 300 hectares, while Condrieu covers around 250 hectares. Such limited vineyard land,combined with low yields and demanding viticulture, explains theirs carcity and prestige.
Today, Syrah from the Northern Rhône is regarded among the world’s mostage-worthy red wines, capable of evolving for decades while preserving balance, structure, and a clear expression of place.
Concierge Led for a Seamless Experience
All our wine tours in France are private and tailor-made. As we offer day trips, we also take care of your stay by recommending charming places to stay while you are in the region. We know the region's restaurants for all tastes, museums, historical guides and places of interest. Calm, precise, unique.
Three Paths to Discovery
The Northern Rhône
Northern Rhone is divided into two parts, the septentrial one with Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Château-Grillet and Saint-Joseph from the north and the meridional part with, Cornas, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph from the South and Saint-Peray.
It means that some travel time is needed to covered and understand this wine region in one day. As styles are different based on the terroir and climate, we propose 2 mornings tastings in one of the area, a relax lunch as well as some time in a beautiful village with a conclusion of an afternoon 2 wineries tasting in the other area so a 12 hours day with around 25 wines tasted which let us time to use appropriate roads, landscapes and villages.
With experience, this amount of time is needed so as to do a great and thoughtful wine tour in Northern Rhone.
You can expect to sample all the regional grapes, Syrah only for the reds, Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne for White, with 3 bottles of vintage wines from the region opened by us at lunch (from the 1970s to our day)
Lunch arrangements are discussed together in advance, according to your preferences and the flow of the day.
Departure can be arranged from Lyon, Valence, Avignon, Paris, or elsewhere. This is discussed together, and a stay of several days is possible.
Côte-Rôtie & Condrieu – Afternoon Masterclass
We like to take our time in quiet, discreet surroundings. Minimal travel for the day, with two wineries visited, located 45 minutes south of Lyon, exploring the Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, and Saint-Joseph areas in the morning. The visits offer different winemaking styles and perspectives on the region’s history, with around 12 wines tasted. The wineries visited can be discussed together.
The afternoon follows at a 19th-century villa, fully privatized for us, surrounded by a serene garden overlooking the city of Vienne. We will spend 3 to 4 hours exploring 5 to 8 wines, either from winemakers of the region regarded as true artists or through a selection of vintage wines from the 1960s to the present day.
Pairings are simple and seasonal: seafood and barbecue, cheeses, fruits, local specialties, and desserts.
The day trip lasts around 9 hours, with approximately 2 hours of total travel time.
Masterclass — June 2025
Châteauneuf-du-Pape blanc 2014
Hermitage blanc 2012
Hermitage blanc 1990
Condrieu 2020
Saint-Joseph rouge 2019
Côte-Rôtie 1987
Côte-Rôtie 2001
Hermitage & Cornas – Afternoon Masterclass
Diving into the south of France, reaching the Valence area, with lavender fields not far away.
Two wineries are visited, located 1 hour and 15 minutes south of Lyon, exploring the Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, and Cornas areas in the morning. The visits offer different winemaking styles and perspectives on the region’s history, with around 12 wines tasted. The wineries visited can be discussed together.
The afternoon follows at a 19th-century villa, fully privatized for us, surrounded by a serene garden overlooking the city of Vienne. We will spend 3 to 4 hours exploring 5 to 8 wines, either from winemakers of the region regarded as true artists or through a selection of vintage wines from the 1960s to the present day.
Pairings are simple and seasonal: seafood and barbecue, cheeses, fruits, local specialties, and desserts.
The day trip lasts around 10 hours, with approximately 3 hours of total travel time.
Masterclass — July 2025
Condrieu 2022
Châteauneuf-du-Pape blanc 1991
Hermitage blanc 1990
Hermitage rouge 2016
Côte-Rôtie 1997
Châteauneuf-du-Pape ?
Your Day, Curated
Start of the day at the airport or your hotel
Departure for the wine region
Morning wine tastings
Lunch with region's wines through the decades
Afternoon tasting
Discover another wine region or return to your hotel
Days last between 8 and 11 hours
Around twenty wines tasted during the day
Accompanied by a French wine enthusiast
Professional driver and electric car
A Seamless Voyage Through the Wolrd’s Most Celebrated Wine Regions
Meet the Makers
Lovers of wine, art, travel and gastronomy, always on the move in France and around the world to learn from the differences.
We all met during our studies, in European wine society. We all have different interests, but wine and its precise tasting conditions are what brought us together.
We share these moments of life all year round and spend around twenty days a year in the Nothern Rhône region to magnify this region's art of living.
