Rhone, an amazing place with amazing wine. I recently had the opportunity to spend time with Ralph, the winemaker at Jaboulet, up on his 'mountain' better known as Hermitage. For a cork dork like me it was surreal to see the vineyards where some of my favorite wines are nurtured and coaxed from the unwieldy granite, soil, climate & terrain. The steep slopes that are tended primarily by hand because machinery is not feasible on the terraced vineyards. The vines struggle to create the amazing syrah that is found in bottles from l'Hermitage. In a town of about 5000 people, one train station, and
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