2017 Cave la Romaine Rouge Tradition

Vaison la Romaine is a village in the Northern Vaucluse, and is home to a world-famous weekly market for foods and dry goods. If you’ve read any of Patricia Wells’s Provençal cookbooks, you’ve seen pictures of Vaison with its Roman ruins, ancient (and still used) Roman bridge, and breathtaking stone houses hanging on a cliff by the river. Vaison la Romaine’s cooperative winery produces Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Ventoux wines – the latter named for nearby Mont Ventoux (famous in the U.S. for the Tour de France). While similar in composition to Côtes du Rhônes, Ventoux wines are a bit lighter and brighter tasting. The Tradition red is a wonderful sipping and apéro red that goes well with everyday food. It is slightly lighter-bodied but with enough tannins to stand up to most food. It goes well with roast chicken and salmon. 2011 is a great vintage, so there is a little more fruit flavor than in years past.