I have never, to date, been disappointed by a red Rhône, at any price. If, in these times of economic uncertainty, you had to restrict your budget and confine your consumption to one region only, which would you choose? Personally, I would plump for wine from the Côtes du Rhône. My reasons are simple: the wines of the Rhône Valley are, in my opinion, the most reliable, versatile and certainly the best value of any region in the world. If you can afford only a low-price red, go for a Rhône.Wine has been produced on the banks of the Rhône since pre-Roman times, but it was the Romans who established the vineyards’ reputation. The next major influence was the papacy at Avignon, transposed from the Eternal City in 1309. Indeed, perhaps the most famous