Châteauneuf du Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a town and commune in the Vaucluse département in Provence, in southern France. Its name derives from a castle built by the Popes when they ruled from Avignon.

The village and three other surrounding communes is famous for its wine, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape is an AOC in the southern Rhône wine region. Unlike its northern Rhône neighbors, Châteauneuf-du-Pape permits thirteen different varieties of grape, and the blend is usually predominantly Grenache. Other red grapes include Cinsault, Counoise, Mourvèdre, Muscardine, Syrah, Terret noir, and Vaccarèse. White grapes include Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picardin, Roussanne, and Piquepoul. In recent years the trend has been to include fewer, or even none, of the allowed white varieties, and rely heavily (or solely) upon the Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah. One may suspect that this is a response to international wine-market trends and the desire to have this sometimes-rustic wine appeal to a broader commercial audience.