The appellations Côtes-du-Rhône et Côtes-du-Rhône Villages have the ambition to reduce the spraying of their vineyards and make them more resistant to drought. As part of these efforts, they have now included four new grape varieties in their regulations.
Two of the grapes are so-called resistant grapes with good resistance to fungal diseases: vidoc, a red grape, and floréal, a white. To adapt to dry summers, they have chosen carignan blanc, known from the Languedoc region, and rolle, also known as vermentino, but that name will probably no longer be allowed in France because Italy wants to keep it for themselves.
Three of the four new grapes are white, and clearly, these two Rhône appellations will produce more white in the future. Demand for whites is increasing.
Read more: Vitisphere
