Domaine Noël Verset

Noël Verset, whose perseverance laboring in the steep, granite vineyards of Cornas, in the Rhône Valley of France, helped the Cornas appellation survive to be discovered by a new generation of wine lovers, died on Sept. 11 in Guilherand-Granges, France. He was 95.

During Mr. Verset’s 75-year career as a vigneron, Cornas evolved from a little-known backwater to one of the world’s most renowned regions for red wines made from the syrah grape....

Noël Verset was born in Cornas, France, on Dec. 4, 1919. His father, Emmanuel, was a vigneron, and young Noël worked his first vintage with his father in 1931, having left school at the age of 12, as many young French farm children did. In 1943, he married Aline Balthazar and set off to work vineyards of his own, although his father continued to help him well into his own old age.

His wife died in 1989. Mr. Verset is survived by two daughte...