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Miss Kelly & Roussanne:
Back-ups No More
Y’all know my girl Kelly Rowland, right? Practically raised by the Knowles family from the age of eight, paired with Matthew Knowles’ aspiring diva daughter Beyonce and a couple of other local girls to form a Supremes-style R&B girl group that would go on to become Destiny’s Child, the only member of Destiny’s Child (other than Beyonce, of course) not to be replaced...you know her, right? You may not know her name exactly, or you may not know her face, but you probably know one or the other, right? Right. So, now that Destiny’s Child is broken up, what’s she been doing with herself, you might ask? A lot, as it turns out. Remember that way back in 2002, (hey, it’s Destiny’s Child history we’re talking about; it doesn’t go that far back) she planted the seeds for her own solo career with her hit collaboration with Nelly (remember him?) on his
track “Dilemma.” She’s dropped a couple of solo albums that have had a few hits on them (nothing to compare to Beyonce, though), and she’s been collaborating with a wide variety of acts – from rappers Eve and Trina to emo rockers Gym Class Heroes to French DJ David Guetta and Gallic crooner Nadiya to Italian singer Tiziano Ferro – hoping to expand her international presence and popularity and make a real name for herself. But she’s also not just about music these days. She got the acting bug guest-starring on television shows like “The Hughleys,” “Eve,” “Girlfriends,” and “American Dreams” and managed to turn those stints into lead roles in movies like Freddy vs. Jason and The Seat Filler. And of course, now she’s got her highest-profile gig and most bizarre collaboration yet, as co-host of Bravo’s Project Runway knock-off “The Fashion Show” with Isaac Mizrahi. But you know all this, right?
And of course, you already know Roussanne (ROO-sahn or roo-SAHN; either way is correct), right? White grape originally grown in the Rhone valley of France, got its name because “roux” is the French word for the reddish-brown russet color of the grapes, typically referred to only in the context of other Rhone white grapes, paired up with Marsanne in the white wines of several northern Rhone appellations while still being overshadowed by the far-more prized Viognier. Well, Roussanne is trying to do its own thing too, break out from the group its most known from and establish itself in its own right. A diva in its own right, it’s become a much more prolific single varietal wine in recent years, as wine-growing regions like California’s Central Coast and Washington state have taken notice of the grape and planted more and more of it. It’s thriving up in the mountains of eastern France’s Savoie region under the name Bergeron, where it is crafted into the crisp, fruity, and aromatic golden Chignan wine. It’s been around in Australia for over a century, where it was first brought in to blend with Shiraz but is now being made on its own. It’s collaborating all over the place: as one of the six permitted grapes – along with Grenache blanc, Picpoul, Clairette, Bourboulenc, and Picardan – used to make white Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines (where it often takes the lead to the tune of making up 80-100% of those wines); as a blending grape with Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Bianco to form Tuscany’s rare Montecarlo bianco wines; and in Provence and the Languedoc regions of France with other white wines like Chardonnay and Vermentino. Roussanne is out there, doing its thing, getting its own, and working it as hard as it can to establish a name for itself on its own, not in the context of other grapes.
But therein lies the problem and the reason while Roussanne is still a Forgotten Grape and Ms. Kelly is still considered an “underrated” artist: if people can’t appreciate the grape (or the person) outside of the group that it is most commonly associated with – even if that grape (or person) was always the backbone of the group while the lead grape (or person) gets all the attention and acclaim – then there’s really no way for the grape (or the person) to establish any identity on its own. Which is why we’re urging you to take a fresh look at Kelly Rowland the recording artist, the actress, the television host, and the diva, and at Roussanne, the crisp, acidic, fragrant, complex white wine. Both
may not be the divas that the leaders of their packs were, but they are divas in
their own right, both will put on a good show for you, and both will definitely
leave you wanting more when you finally see and appreciate the talent they
have on their own.
What It Looks Like, What It Smells Like, and What It Tastes Like
As Viognier is known for its floral, perfumed fragrance, so too is Roussanne, only the scents come off as quite a bit different. Roussanne’s floral scents are a bit wilder than Viognier’s, evoking wildflowers rather than acacia, gardenia, and jasmine, and there is an herbaceous quality to the aroma that is likely to invoke the smells of herbal tea. You might also get the aroma of pear, honey and sometimes more tropical and exotic scents like lychee, macadamia nut, and apricot. Roussannes are well-known for their unique and powerful aromas and are blended to other wines specifically to add fragrance, so make sure to stick your nose in the glass and enjoy the scents deeply before you take your first sip of a Roussanne.
Okay, “dropping acid” may not be the best term to use when describing the flavor of a Roussanne, but it certainly is apt, as most Roussanne wines have a particular tart acidic kick to them that drops onto the palate at first sip. This acid punch can be a little too strong if the grapes were harvested too early, but its high acid is one of the reasons Roussanne is so favored as a blending grape – it gives thinner wines some much-needed backbone and structure and can extend the longevity of a wine dominated by other grapes (this is why Roussanne is such a perfect partner to shorter-lived Viognier and Marsanne, as well as other fleeting grapes). Apricot flavors similar to Viognier will be present in most Roussannes, as will a bit o’ honey-like sweetness (that’s a bit of sweetness like honey, not sweetness like a Bit O’ Honey; we would have put the picture up if it was the latter). You are also liable to get some pear flavors as well as more tropical citrus flavors such as mandarin orange and kiwi.
• We made mention of how much of a diva Roussanne can be, but you don’t know the half of it. Certainly in this department it can lay equal claim to Viognier as being just as fickle and difficult a grape to grow. Roussanne is, much like Viognier, highly susceptible to powdery mildew (which can rot entire grape crops) and is also prone to irregular or low grape yields brought on by drought, wide shifts in climate, too much rain, not enough rain, too much wind, etc. Wind is an especially big issue, as the vines and leaves of Roussanne do not provide much wind resistance for the grapes, which can easily be blown off the vine if the Mistral (the legendary cold and harsh wind that blows through the Rhone valley for most of the winter and spring) plays too rough.
Additionally, Roussanne grapes prefer a long growing period, but have to be harvested at just the right time – ideally when the alcohol produced during fermentation will fall below 14% – or else the wines will be out of balance. If the grapes are picked too soon, though, the wines produced are far too acidic and will need aging in oak to soften them up (a process more and more Roussanne producers are experimenting with these days). Even if the grapes are picked at just the right time, though, Roussanne winemakers aren’t out of the woods just yet: Roussanne wines are prone to oxidation while fermenting and aging and much be watched and monitored constantly to avoid ruining the batch. For all intensive purposes, Roussanne should have gone the near-extinction route that Viognier and Carmenere did, but it didn’t and it still provides rich fragrance, softness, and some acidic backbone to the wines its blended with and on its own as a stand-alone varietal.
• You really can’t talk about Roussanne without talking about the northern Rhone valley, despite what we might have said above. There are four main appellations that utilize Roussanne as a primary white wine grape. Three of them – Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, and Saint-Joseph – all allow only Roussanne and Marsanne to be used in the white wines from these AOCs, and up to 15% of either grape can be used in the making of these AOC’s Syrah-dominated red wines (only 10% is allowed in Saint-Joseph, though the blending of white wine into the red rarely occurs in these regions). The fourth appellation, Saint-Peray, is one of the three white-wine-only appellations of the Rhone (along with Condrieu and Chateau-Grillet, which we covered last week during our look at Viognier) and also only legally allows Roussanne and Marsanne, although almost 90% of the vines in the appellation are Marsanne. The primary wine produced in Saint-Peray is actually a sparkling wine made from these two grapes in a Methode Champenoise style. Saint-Peray is the most southern of the northern Rhone AOCs and is also one of the smallest and least well-known. We’ll talk more about it next week.
• Despite its kind of behind-the-scenes nature and being overshadowed by other grapes in its own home region, Roussanne certainly isn’t immune to some controversy of its own. It just had to go to California to generate the scandal, and of course Viognier had to be involved as well. So the story goes that sometime in the 1980’s, winemaker Randall Grahm (whom you might recognize as the owner and winemaker of Bonny Doon Vineyard and one of the founders of the “Rhone Rangers” society) smuggled what he thought were Roussanne vine cuttings from a vineyard in Chateauneuf-du-Pape into the U.S. (normally any vine cuttings brought into the United States have to be quarantined for a lengthy period of time to ensure that no pests or diseases or unknown viruses are harbored inside). Grahm planted the cuttings in his Santa Cruz mountains vineyard, grew his own Roussanne to use in a Rhone-style white blend, and then in 1994 sold some of clippings from these new vines to one of the largest grapevine nurseries in California, who in turn sold them off to wineries looking to grow their own Roussanne. One of the buyers was Caymus winery, which was happy with their purchase until a fellow winemaker – John Alban of Alban Vineyards – stopped by and noticed that Caymus’ Roussanne vines looked an awful lot like Viognier vines. The vines were DNA-tested
and sure enough, were discovered to be Viognier, meaning all the cuttings and all
the grapes from Grahm’s original “Roussanne” plantings weren’t Roussanne
at all.
Fun Facts to Impress/Bore People At Parties
From Brein’s Brain to Your Plate
“Hmm, Roussanne. It’s a tough wine to pair with because it really doesn’t get drunk all by itself all that often. But I’m always up for a challenge so let’s do this. Now, Roussannes have that really strong, fragrant nose to them, and they also can have a pretty acidic sting. You need a food that’s going to match the aromatics but also mellow out that acid and still blend well with the flavors of the wine. So, one thought is, if you’ve got a Roussanne that’s been smoothed out in oak and has a little more of the tropical and nutty flavor to it, try banana macadamia nut bread with it, but smother that bread in some melted clarified butter. The butter will match the oak, and the sweetness and nuttiness of the bread will counteract the acid while the tropical flavors in both should be intensified.”
“Avocado tempura would also go really, really well with a Roussanne. You need the fattiness in the avocado to cut through all the acid in the wine, but then because the avocado has such a mellow flavor that it is really going to let the apricot and tropical fruit flavors of the wine shine through. Plus, and let’s just be honest here, anything that is deep fried can’t be bad. Avocados, deep fried? That’s just decadent, indulgent, awesome heaven right there.”
“Okay, I forgot an idea that’s a variation on the first one. If you don’t want to go with a banana macadamia nut bread or don’t have the time to the where-with-all to make a whole loaf of bread from scratch, you could also pair a Roussanne with a trail mix or Chex mix made with banana chips, macadamia nuts, coconut flakes, and golden raisins. Make sure they’re golden raisins. That will give it a nice tropical and sweet flavor. But my last pairing is kind of a surprise: lemon meringue pie. Think about it, Roussannes have a bit of natural sweetness to them, and the meringue is going to really cut down
the acid, while the lemon will work with the acid and heighten it
in both things. That’s going to be really good. Don’t be afraid
to serve a Roussanne with dessert. It’s something different
but it’s something that can be really good.”
Chef Brein Clements is the chef/owner of Restaurant Omakase in Riverside, CA, which
is quickly becoming SoCal’s answer to El Bulli. Minus the molecular gastronomy. He
began his cooking career at Domaine Chandon in the Napa Valley and moved on to become
Chef de Cuisine at the famed Balboa Bay Club before opening his own restaurant. Plus
he’s only 27. My man knows his wine and he knows his food. Each week he’ll provide
ingredient and dish recommendations that match up well with the week’s forgotten
grape. You should heed what he says. No, seriously, heed it.
Go On. Try It. You’ll Like It. 
2008 Cass Paso Robles Estate Roussanne
You read the interview just above, now taste the fruit of Lood’s labor (fruit, get
it? Alright, fine. I’ll stop). Lots of butter, lots of oak, lots of alcohol (14.75%
ABV) and lots of perfume on the nose of this wine. The nose reminded a lot of us
of French toast – nice, light and fluffy with hints of nutmeg and maple syrup. There
was a distinct sweetness to this wine but it was very slight. It started off a bit
weak on the palate, but really opened up into some fresh, clean mandarin orange flavors,
getting longer the more oxygen it got with almost an orange rind aftertaste, that
little hint of bitterness. You can buy this directly from Cass Winery and we recommend
you do so. It’s a terrific example of what new world winemaking and a solid helping
of oak can do to a wonderful Roussanne.
2006 D’Arenberg “The Money Spider” McLaren Vale Roussanne
You know for years I was convinced that the name of this wine was “The Monkey Spider”
since that seemed to be a fairly logical name and an animal that probably lived in
Australia that some eccentric winemaker would name his wine after. It was only after
actually picking the wine up and uncorking it for the first time did I realize it
was actually “The Money Spider,” and much like you, I have absolutely no idea what
that means. But this wine, much like the name, is distinctly Australian. It had a
bit of a glycerin-y, almost Riesling nose to it with pear, lychee and macadamia nut.
But it is full powered and highly acidic on the palate, with lots of limestone and
minerals and a German-like tartness to it, which makes it definitely Australian (though
ironically, the alcohol here – 13.5% – was by far the lowest of the wines we tasted).
Our Friends at Napacabs.com helped us procure this bottle (thanks, Maria!) but we
have it on good measure that our other Friends at Liquorama have it as well, so check
it out.
2006 Rosenblum Fess Parker Vineyard Roussanne
Roussanne straight from Santa Barbara County. Rosenblum is kind of a jack-of-all-trades
when it comes to winemaking, but they’ve been doing a pretty good job on their Rhone
varietals recently. This Roussanne had a little extra sweetness than the others we
tasted, with more of a peach or apricot danish scent on the nose to go with lots
of big flowery perfume and some honey. The flavors, though, were all lemon meringue
pie, with a nice fluffy sweetness covering the lemony tartness of the wine. All that
was missing was a Graham cracker crust. So
once again Napacabs was our procurer of this wine, but we
also know for a fact that Bevmo.com has it as well, though
it might vary store to store, so check their website. But
if you can get it, definitely pick it up and try it and
don’t be afraid to pair it with a dessert!
Think you’ve got a better pop culture icon to describe Roussanne than what we came up with? Let us know in our Comments section. If it’s good enough, we may use it in a future update.
Taste, smell, or see something different? Let us know in our Comments section.
Know something about Roussanne that we don’t? Share it with us and other wine lovers out there in our Comments section.
Think you can pair food and wines better than Brein can? Share your best food pairings with Roussanne in our Comments section and see what the master has
Our Friend of the Forgotten Grapes Tasting Squadron tastes all of the wines you see
here ahead of time to ensure that you aren’t getting anything rotten or clunky. We
also try to ensure that most of the wines highlighted here are affordably priced
($20 or less) so you can try them out for yourself without having to take out a second
mortgage or sacrificing your kid (or future kid’s) college fund to do so. Lastly,
the Friends of the Forgotten Grapes has relationships with all the fine wine purveyors
we link to in this section. We know them, we trust them. You can order these wines
from them online right now and be trying them out in the next couple of days. Do
yourself a favor and order from them by using the links below. It’s totally worth
it. And tell them that ForgottenGrapes.com sent you, too.
We talked last week about the bright, vibrant, soft golden yellow color that Viognier has (always comparing Roussanne to Viognier...it just can’t escape it!), and Roussanne has a very similar color, although slightly more pale and with a little less vibrancy. Hey, it’s not Roussanne’s fault it’s just fermented that way. The goldenness of the color will be enhanced if the Roussanne was aged in oak, as the tannins and vanillin in the wood will impart a deeper sheen of gold into the wine, but in most cases, your Roussanne is going to look very much like a Viognier, with just a slightly duller pigment to it.
Know of a bottle of Roussanne that we should try? Tell us about it in our Comments section.
But Don’t Just Take Our Word for It...
Whenever possible, Friends of the Forgotten Grapes will offer up a short interview
with a winemaker working with the week’s featured Forgotten Grape. It’s his or her
chance to tell you a little bit more about who they are, the winery and wines, and
how he or she got started working with this particular Forgotten Grape . We do this
because we want you to get to know the winemakers and better understand their mind
set and passions for particular Forgotten Grapes. We also do this because we’re givers
and only want to make you happy. Isn’t that enough for you? What more do you want?
This week’s interview is with Lood Kotze, winemaker at Cass Winery in Paso Robles,
California. We love saying Lood’s name as much as we love Cass’ wines: Lood Kotze.
Looooooood Kot-ze. It’s just so exotic-sounding and fun to say, the kind of name
you’d want to have if you were a ball player stepping up to bat. Loooooooooooooooood.
Anyway, we asked him about Cass Winery and their Roussanne.
Friends of Forgotten Grapes: A lot of winemakers who grow Roussanne either blend
it with Marsanne or Marsanne and Viognier to make traditional northern Rhone style
white wines. But Cass does their Roussanne as a 100% varietal. Why?
Lood Kotze: This specific wine, the 2008 Cass Roussanne is indeed 100% Roussanne.
However we also make a Roussanne blended with Marsanne, aged in oak - our more traditional
Roussanne blend. These wines are both Roussanne based, but very different in style.
The pure varietal Roussanne is made in a new-world style that reflects varietal character.
In the making of it I tried to preserve and express the unique Roussanne character,
and bottle a wine that is varietal driven, fresh and crisp, best suited for early
consumption.
FoFG: Along those lines, we have to ask: why no 100% Marsanne?
LK: We do grow Marsanne grapes and use it in blends. I am hoping to in the future
also produce a varietal Marsanne. It will take a little while to test the performance
of this grape in our vineyard and as a single varietal wine, but I am confident it
wont take long. It definitely works great in the blends we have used it in.
FoFG: So what, in your opinion, makes for a great Roussanne wine?
LK: Balance and complexity are key to a great wine. Roussanne is a very versatile
varietal and can be made in various styles. The great examples are ones that are
hand crafted, true to the varietal, and expresses the area in which it is grown.
But this of course is true for all wines.
FoFG: Cass Winery makes a note on its website that there are only 190 total acres
of Roussanne planted in California. Why do you think that number is so low and why
hasn’t Roussanne achieved more notoriety in the United States?
LK: A few varietals dominate the wine market and will always be the big ones, but
as people learn about wine and mature in their taste, they tend to break away from
trends and what they are used to and seek out something different. The lesser known
varietals have a following, and more and better examples of these varietals are
being produced then ever before. So as people are discovering new varietals and
wines, and add them to the wines they buy, Roussanne will grow in
popularity.
