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Five minutes with Rhône champion Matt Walls

I think the Rhône is in a bit of a sweet spot at the moment, people are aware that these are authentic wines of place. This is a region with 2,000 years of history, but when you visit, you meet the families themselves, in the vineyard, so these aren’t people in an ivory tower. They are quite relatable wines in many ways, and quite affordable, from the bottom to the top. You can find a lot of value, whether it’s a weekday wine or for a special occasion. And about 20% of the Rhône Valley is now certified organic.

I used to live there and I still get there when I can, five or six times a year to talk to the vignerons. There are some quite difficult economic headwinds, so I thought, ‘what can I do after so many of these winemakers have opened their doors to me for so many years? Perhaps I can return the favour a little bit, maybe I can put on an event’.

This could also be useful to the UK trade. We still don’t have a complete understanding of the Rhône. We’re brilliant at Bordeaux and Burgundy, but the Rhône is often where people start their journey in wine, they know Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueyras, but how many have a good understanding of Vinsobres, of Lirac, of Tavel? Some fabulous wines are being made in these smaller appellations. I hope this event will give people a more complete wunderstanding of what’s going on in the Rhône Valley.

The Rhône Roots Tasting is on 30 April at Lumiere London Underwood in London N1.

• Matt Walls
• Wines
• rhône