Area that is noteworthy because it was established only in the 1960s in an effort to accommodate French winemakers fleeing from North Africa after several nations there gained independence. This fairly large APPELLATION is located in the southern portion of France’s RHÔNE region, north of Bollene. It produces mainly red and some ROSÉ wines from CARIGNAN, CINSAUT, GRENACHE, MOUVÈDRE, and SYRAH. The red wines, which have historically been rather light, are gaining BODY as more Syrah is being planted and used in the BLEND. Small amounts of white wine are produced mainly from BOURBOULENC and MARSANNE.