Grape Varietal Blog- Roussanne
Roussanne
There is something special to me about having a nice glass of white wine with friends and family, especially on a beautiful day. White wines have the ability to turn even the most basic meals, into a high quality and memorable time. There is almost no way that I can describe the feeling I get when I open a new bottle of wine. That is why it was not a hard choice for me to decide to write about the white wine varietal Roussanne.
Roussanne is a white wine varietal. The grapes of the varietal grow in the same manner as most other grapes. The grapes usually grow in the shape of a small marble. Because Roussanne is used to make white wine, the color of the grapes is always a shade of light green. But from time to time I saw pictures of Roussanne grapes and some of them were covered in light purple spots. The vines of Roussanne grow very thick. I have never seen vines as large as Roussanne’s but I am sure that there are crazier looking vines in other grape varietals. Roussanne does look like any other average grape, but it is described as being one of the most difficult to grow.
Roussanne grapes are grown to produce a white wine. When it is made right, Roussanne creates a sweet and a strong taste. But something that is unique to Roussanne is that the taste is more similar to a red wine than many other white wines. I think this is an interesting quality that puts Roussanne apart from other white wines. Wine made from Roussanne grapes are described as having a mild oil texture to it. The smell of Roussanne is described almost and strong as the taste. Even Roussanne grapes are said to have a strong smell. Roussanne is described as having a mixed smell between many fruits and some nuts. This to me sounds like a very unique smell to wine that I would definitely like to experience with some close people.
One thing Roussanne grapes are famous for is that many vineyards have trouble growing the grapes. It turns out that Roussanne is extremely sensitive to mildew and rot. I was actually surprised to learn just how difficult growing Roussanne can be for some people. Even under the best conditions Roussanne can sometimes randomly just not grow the way a vineyard intended. This seems like it could have been a huge problem for people who grow Roussanne. I know that if I had to grow a grape varietal and it were to give me the same problems that Roussanne can give, I would definitely think twice about growing Roussanne again. And actually this is the same idea came to many people that grow Roussanne grapes.
In the past the fact that Roussanne was so difficult to grow in vineyards became a serious problem. The amount of Roussanne that was being produced began to decline because it was becoming hard to make. I read about how Roussanne even began to decline even in France. The fact that Roussanne could begin to lose its popularity even in France did make me a little nervous about Roussanne. But apparently Roussanne has been recovering to its previous levels in the past. If this is true, I definitely will have more faith in this grape varietal.
Roussanne wine is now a respectable varietal used for wines in France. It remains popular in France obviously because it it originally from there. But Roussanne grapes have been making their way across the world. Now you can find Roussanne in other places like California, Australia. But there are still smaller places around the world where someone can find other grape varietals. Roussanne can be found in other places around because it does not require any special preparation in growing.
Roussanne can be grown in many different areas around the world because it can handle different types of soil. This is definitely a great quality of Roussanne because it means that less effort is needed to go into making the wine. But even though this is true, Roussanne still is difficult. Just like how I said earlier, Roussanne sometimes just does not grow well or even at all. This shows how that even if someone put their best efforts in making Roussanne, it could all go wrong very quickly. What is even worse is someone planting Roussanne would only know late into the season if their Roussanne would grow correctly.
Roussanne grapes are known for growing sometimes with less than expected amounts. Sometimes this is because Roussanne is very weak against abuse from nature. But other times Roussanne just decides on its own to not grow correctly. And because the grapes ripen later during the growing season a vineyard might not have time to replace the grapes that went bad.
One thing that I keep thinking about are the hard times that vineyards must go through when making Roussanne. That is a huge problem that some people are forced to go through. But if people are able to successfully grow Roussanne grapes for wine, they will have a great tasting wine. I have never heard about a wine that has such a unique flavor and smell. Even though I am not the biggest fan of white wines, the description of Roussanne sounds way too good to not at least try. Roussanne varietals seem like they might be my next choice in wine.
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