I’m a member of a really fun group of wine bloggers who LOVE French Wine. We’re called the French Winophiles and in March, we are focusing on the wines of the Rhône Valley. The Rhône Valley, in southeast France, is divided into north and south. The north is a small area of eight appellations, and home to beautiful, brooding Syrahs (sometimes blended with a little Viognier). The southern Rhône is much larger, producing 96 percent of all Rhône wines, including a riot of red blends, such as the famous Châteauneuf du Pape (which can be made with up with 13 specified grape varieties), along with blends from AOCs such as Gigondas and Vacqueyras.

But that’s not all! Roaming a tiny bit east gets you to Clairette de Die, known for its sweet sparkling whites. And further south brings you to Tavel, home of rosé of Grenache and Cinsault.

If you are a wine writer or blogger, we invite you to Roam the Rhône with the #Winophiles in March. And because our Twitter chat is scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day – extra points if you pair Rhône wines with Irish fare! Lamb Shepherd’s Pie with Syrah could be the pot of gold at the end of the Rhône rainbow! Here’s how to participate:

• Contact me to tell me you’re in. Include your blog URL and Twitter handle. If you know your blog post title, include that, but you can also send that a bit closer to the event. We’d just like to get a sense of who’s participating and give some shout-outs and links as we go. Contact me here.
• Send the title of your blog post to me by Wed., March 14 so I can include it – and a link to your blog – in a preview post that will be up by March 16. Be sure include “#Winophiles” in your headline.
• Publish your post between midnight and 8 a.m. CDT on Saturday, March 17th. We’ll gather on Twitter at 10 a.m. March 17 to chat about roaming the Rhône!
• Include links to the other #Winophiles participants in your post and a description of what the event is about. The URLs for all the participating posts will be in the preview post, and you can cut and copy that into your blog post.
• Go social! After the posts go live, please visit your fellow bloggers’ posts to comment and share. We have a Facebook group for participating bloggers to connect and share, too. If you need an invitation please let me know.
• Sponsored posts are OK if clearly disclosed. Please be sure to disclose if your post is sponsored or if you are describing wine or other products you have received as free samples.

Happy roaming, everyone!