Hospice du Rhone 2010 has officially started and so far it's been a blast. The Rhone 'n Bowl evening is a great ice-breaker with nearly two hundred winemakers, grape growers, proprietors, writers, sommeliers, etc. get together to sip on a variety of Rhone-varietal wines and bowl badly. Rock and roll music is throbs in the alley, as will the heads of those who sample too frequently from the selection of wines available.

There were three different pouring stations with at least 30 wines at each. White wines, rosés and red wines representing from France, North America, Australia and South Africa were available for tasting. And, on top of all that, many of the attendees brought wines from their own collections to share. I wasn't able to take a note on every bottle I sampled, but I know that I tried at least one each from Cote-Rotie, St. Joseph, Hermitage and Costieres-de-Nimes, a South African Shiraz, Syrahs from Jonata, Buena Vista, Paloma and Kunin-Gangloff, and two Shiraz from the Barossa Valley's Torbreck. I started off with the Marsanne from Qupe. This assortment highlighted one of the things I like best about Rhone-varietal wines – the huge variety. There are so many grapes to choose from and use singly or blend. But, even if you use just a single variety such as Syrah, the various terroirs, winemaking techniques, vine ages and more still lead to a huge range of styles.

Of course most of the attendees have tasted thousands of such wines over the years. And this particular part of the conference is much more about friendship and having fun than it is analyzing wine. While the grapes and the people are spread around the world, Hospice du Rhone always gives them a forum to come together to rekindle friendships, make new ones. The conference has been the genesis of several new and significant collaborations over the years too. I mentioned to Rhone winemaker Yves Gangloff this evening that I had missed him last year; he'd been unable to attend. He told me that he'd just been too busy. Then he thought for a moment and said that he's actually too busy this year too, but he just couldn't stay away. Hospice du Rhone is that kind of event.

The main conference kicks off tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock Pacific Time. The first topic is South African Syrah. I'll be there and hope to tweet key points from that session, so stay tuned to #HdR2010.

If you enjoyed this article, please share it! Icons for popular sharing services are at the above and below.

Follow NorCalWine on Twitter for breaking wine news, information on events and more. Become a fan and join the NorCal Wine community on Facebook. Also check outour comprehensive Northern California winery listings. They are very useful for planning a tasting trip or just getting in touch with a winery.

This article is original to NorCalWine.com. Copyright 2010 NorCal Wine. Banner photo from Cote Rotie by Fred Swan. All rights reserved.

| More...