There is a tiny sub-appellation in the Rousillon region of France called "Collioure." In this beautiful stretch of coastline, the mountains meet the Mediterranean, as they do around the French Riviera, but these are the Pyrenees and slopes here are covered in Grenache and Mourvedre instead of condos. In fact, they have a special legal status as a national monument and cannot be paved over. The vineyards are among the most beautiful in the world. Mostly on narrow terraces, ancient, head-trained vines growing in schist rock on steep slopes of the Pyrenees that come right down to the Mediterranean. On the wall in my home office, I have a framed snapshot of such a vineyard with its terraced rows interrupted by some immovable boulders (the very spine of the mountains) and a fruit tree.
Grenache and Mourvedre may become the varieties that San Diego is known for. Right now, we are only known for being south of Temecula and north of the Guadalupe Valley. That's got to change.
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