Rhône

The Rhône (/ˈroʊn/; French: Le Rhône [ʁon]; German: Rhone [ˈroːnə]; Walliser German: Rotten [ˈrotən]; Italian: Rodano [ˈrɔːdano]; Arpitan: Rôno [ˈʁono]; Occitan: Ròse [ˈrɔze]) is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland, passing through Lake Geneva and running through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhône (French: Le Grand Rhône) and the Little Rhône (Le Petit Rhône). The resulting delta constitutes the Camargue region.

Name

The name Rhône continues the name Rhodanus (Greek Ῥοδανός Rhodanos) in Greco-Roman geography. The Gaulish name of the river was *Rodonos or *Rotonos (from a PIE root *ret- "to run, roll" frequently found in river names).

The Greco-Roman as well as the reconstructed Gaulish name is masculine, as is French le Rhône. This form survives in the Italian namesake, Rodano. German has adopted the French name but given it the feminine gender, die Rhone. The original German adoption of the Latin name was also masculine, der Rotten; it survives only in the Upper Valais (dialectal Rottu).

The Rhône v The Peter AB Widener

The Rhône v The Peter AB Widener is a Supreme Court of Canada decision on the "directing mind" principle of corporate liability. The Court held that an individual must have "governing authority over the management and operation" of the corporation to be considered a "directing mind".

Background

While moored in the Port of Montreal, the Rhône was struck by the Peter Widener, a barge that was being towed by four tugboats (the Ohio in front, the South Carolina and the Ste. Marie II on either side, and the Rival at the rear). Of the four tugs, only two, the South Carolina and the Ohio, were owned by Great Lakes Towing Company. Captain Kelch, on the tug Ohio, acted as de facto master of the flotilla.

The owners of the Rhône sued the barge and the tug owners for damaging their ship, and North Central Maritime Corporation, the owner of the barge, sued Great Lakes for breach of its towage contract. Great Lakes denied liability in both actions and counterclaimed for limitation of liability pursuant to provisions of the Canada Shipping Act. At the Trial Division of the Federal Court of Canada, the judge apportioned 80 percent of the liability to Great Lakes and 20 percent to North Central in the first action (based on the negligence of the respective captains), and found Great Lakes to be totally at fault in the second action.

Rhône wine

The Rhône wine region in Southern France is situated in the Rhône valley and produces numerous wines under various Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) designations. The region's major appellation in production volume is Côtes du Rhône AOC.

The Rhône is generally divided into two sub-regions with distinct vinicultural traditions, the Northern Rhône (referred to in French as Rhône septentrional) and the Southern Rhône (in French Rhône méridional). The northern sub-region produces red wines from the Syrah grape, sometimes blended with white wine grapes, and white wines from Marsanne, Roussane and Viognier grapes. The southern sub-region produces an array of red, white and rosé wines, often blends of several grapes such as in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

History

The first cultivated vines in the region were probably planted around 600 BC. The origins of the two most important grape varieties in the northern Rhone (Syrah and Viognier) are subject to speculation. Some say the Greeks were responsible for bringing the Syrah grape from the Persian city of Shiraz. Others say the grape came 50 years later when Greeks fled from the Persian king Cyrus I. Yet others say the grape came from the Sicilian city of Syracuse, whence circa 280 AD the Romans brought it and the Viognier grape. Meanwhile extensive DNA typing and viticultural research has led scientists to conclude that Syrah originated in the Rhône region itself.