Cornas is a village in the northern Rhone valley, which produces rich, long-lived red wines under the AOC Cornas appellation. The area is blessed with the same steep granite slopes and high sunshine hours as Hermitage, 8 miles (13km) to the north, and makes a similar, if slightly less refined, style of wine. For most of the 20th century, the focus on Cornas wines was significantly less than it has been throughout its long history, but the appellation's wines are now recovering their former renown and quality, due to a recent resurgence of interest and financial investment.
Cornas, which employs only about 270 acres (110 hectares) of vineyards, is located on the western bank of the Rhone river, just south of the larger Saint-Joseph appellation, which is about 20 times its size. Cornas' limited size brings focus to its wine production, and it does not suffer from the variable reputation caused by higher-volume production as Saint-Joseph does. At present, the Cornas wines do not attract such high prices as their better known rivals to the north, and provide affordable access to high-quality wines characteristic of the Rhone style.
The sparkling wines of Saint-Peray are made in very close proximity to the robust reds of Cornas - the vineyards from which these two very different wines come occupy the same alluvial plateau and granite ridge. The villages of Cornas and Saint-Peray are separated by just one mile (1.6km), but their mesoclimates are measurably different, Saint-Peray being slightly cooler than Cornas due to its dramatic topography.
The best wine-growing areas of Cornas are located to the west and particularly the north-west of the village, where the sun-baked slopes (Cornas is an old dialectal term for burnt land) are protected from the cold north winds which move down the valley. These granite-based slopes rise dramatically from the western edge of the village, rapidly reaching heights of 1,150ft (350m). The majority of the vineyards planted on these sites are terraced for stability, and to make viticulture possible. Granite has been identified as being a valuable part of many Rhone terroirs, as it is an efficient heat retainer, provides rapid drainage and is of low fertility, which forces the vines to form deep, strong root systems.
Cornas wines are made exclusively from the Syrah grape variety. They are powerful and dark wines, often with supple, ripe tannins.
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