Department in south-east France with the capital Privas in the political region of Rhone-Alpes, which is named after the river of the same name. It lies in the middle of the departments of Lozére (west), Haute Loire (north-west), Loire (north), Drôme (east), Vaucluse (south-east) and Gard (south-west). The Châtaigne d'Ardèche AOC area is for chestnuts. A speciality is the "Cuvée des vignes d'antan" wine made from hybrid varieties (see under Jacquez). From the early 1980s, the wine trading house Louis Latour did pioneering work here.
The climate is Mediterranean with mild winters and hot, dry summers. The vineyards cover 7,500 hectares of vines on limestone and sandstone soils. The picture shows the impressive Gorges de l'Ardèche. The wine-growing areas belong to the Rhône wine-growing region. The AOC areas:
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Roman Horvath MW
Domäne Wachau (Wachau)