Cote Rotie is a prestigious appellation on the northside of France’s Rhone Valley. Its name translates as “The Roasted Slope”, probably due to the high intensity of the sun exposure of its steep, terraced vineyards.
What is interesting about this region is that it allows wineries to produce only Syrah, exclusively. The French government regulates the wine varieties that can be grown in each wine region. Usually, this amounts to several different varieties. For example, in Bordeaux, traditionally only 6 varieties were allowed. Recently they added 4 more. In Southern Rhone appellations, 10 to 15 varieties are allowed, although in Chateauneuf du- Pape, the most popular region in the south, most of the wines are blends of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, known as GSM.
What makes Cote Rotie unique is that it allows the co-fermentation of Syrah with a white variety, Viognier which is grown in Syrah vineyards by scattering the Viognier plants at the rate of 3-5%. Thus, the Viognier is harvested with the Syrah and co-fermented.
The official reason for allowing the addition of Viognier is to “stabilize the color” of the Syrah through a process called “co-pigmentation”. This is definitely a MYTH, a made-up story, not based on facts. The Cote Rotie Syrah is essentially bold and earthy without much fruity and floral elements. Adding 3-5% Viognier makes the Syrah softer and fruitier tasting, the real reason for adding the Viognier.
On February 21, 2026, I had the Tasting with the Winemaker event on the subject of “Myths, Misconceptions, and Fake News in Wine”. While I was preparing for this event I ran across the story about Cote Rotie, which drew my curiosity about blending Viognier with Syrah.
I am not a purist winemaker. When I am putting together a varietal wine, before bottling I don’t mind adding small amounts of other varieties to make the wine more balanced, as long as this doesn’t effect the varietal identity of the wine. As it turned out, over the years I don’t remember ever adding any other varieties to my Syrah wines. I always thought that my Syrahs were well balanced and didn’t require adding anything else.
During the preparation for my “Wine Myths” presentation, I made two blends of Syrah with Viognier. In one, I added 5% and in the second 20% Viognier. I showed these two wines, along with the pure Syrah to my audience, which consisted of about 40 people. As expected, the sample with 5% Viognier was slightly softer with more intense fruity flavors, but still recognizable as Syrah. The 20% Viognier sample crossed the line. The wine lost its Syrah character and identity. This has been a positive experience for me and for the people attending my session who heard the story about Cote Rotie and tasted the wines.
Live & Learn – All about good wines!
Chaim
March 2026