Saint-Péray is the southernmost of all the top appellations on the northern Rhone. The wine-growing region, which comprises just over 60 hectares of vineyards, lies on the right bank of the river below Cornas and directly opposite Valence. Only Marsanne and Roussanne are cultivated here, which makes Saint-Péray the third pure white wine region of the northern Rhone, along with Condrieu and Château-Grillet.
Unfairly, it is also the most unknown, at least as far as the region's still wines are concerned. For while the sparkling wines have had the reputation of being among the best in France since the 19th century, presumably even die-hard Rhône lovers have hardly ever had a non-sparkling Saint-Péray in their glass (and even of the bottle-fermented variety there is so little that hardly any of it even makes it to us via the Granze).
