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No wine category has seen more dramatic growth in recent years than American Rhônevariety wines. Winemakers are devoting more energy, more acreage, and more bottlings to Rhône than ever before. The flagship Rhône red, Syrah, is routinely touted as one of Californias most promising varieties, capable of tremendous adaptability as a vine, wonderfully variable in style, and highly expressive of place. With each passing year it becomes more characterful, interesting, and higher in quality. There has never been better time for the American Rhône wine producer.

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Patrick J. Comiskey is a wine writer and critic forWine & Spiritsmagazine. He has written about wine for many publications, including the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Food & Wine, Decanter, and Lucky Peach.

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