Hospice du Rhône Celebrates South of France

The 12th annual gathering in California attracted winemakers and Rhône fanatics from around the world.

Tim Fish
Posted: May 25, 2004

No one asked for a glass of Chardonnay at this weekend's Hospice du Rhône, not unless they were angling for a fight. This annual Paso Robles event, now in its 12th year, drew devotees of Syrah, Mourvèdre and 20 other traditional varieties to celebrate the proliferation of Rhône-inspired wines around the world.

This year, more than 2,500 people attended the three-day event, which featured 150 producers from five countries. "It's really amazing," Daniel Ravier, winemaker for Domaine Tempier in France, said of the event. "We all have the same passion."

The weekend was a hyperactive blend of casual frivolity and serious wine tastings. Festivities opened on Thursday with the annual Rhône-n-Bowl, in which winemakers and consumers pummeled the pins in a local bowling alley.

This year's seminars included a tasting and discussion on the wines of Domaine Tempier, the highly regarded Bandol producer. Winemakers Rolf Binder of Veritas and Chester Osborn of d'Arenberg led a discussion of Australian Mourvèdre. Winemakers Christophe Baron of Cayuse and Doug McCrea of McCrea Cellars gave a seminar on the Rhône-style wines of Washington. There was also a comparative tasting of California Rhône-style wines produced by Arrowood and Lewis wineries.

The seminar audiences -- a mixture of consumers and members of the wine trade -- peppered winemakers with detailed questions about crop loads, soil types and oak-aging methods, but during the two walk-around tastings, the crowd seemed more interested in kicking back and enjoying a glass or two.

At Saturday's Grand Tasting, hundreds of producers offered their latest releases, from California Rhône pioneers such as Eberle and Zaca Mesa to new kids such as Roar, Melville and Novy.

"Rhône varieties are becoming more and more popular," said Bill Easton, winemaker for Domaine de la Terre Rouge in California's Sierra Foothills. "But I still think the story needs to be told. We're educating people here so they can go home and preach the gospel."

A barrel auction on Saturday netted $162,000, which will be used primarily to promote the event in the future.

The weekend's only solemn moment came during the barrel auction, when vintner John Alban paid tribute to winemaker Mike Bonaccorsi, who died unexpectedly in January at the age of 43. A special lot of Bonaccorsi Syrah was auctioned off, and the proceeds will go toward a scholarship fund at the University of California, Davis. Alban told the crowd, "This weekend is dedicated to Michael."