Roussanne

Pronounced: roo-sahn

History: Roussanne seems to have originated in the area where it is mainly grown in the Côtes du Rhône and the valley of the Isère in Eastern France.

Description: Roussanne is very rarely used to produce a varietal wine but more usually blended with Marsanne to produce the famous white wine of Hermitage from the Rhône Valley of Eastern France, adding elegance, delicacy and aroma to the Marsanne, the quality of the Roussanne improving with age. It is also used to produce the vin de paille of the same region, with the juice becoming thick and viscous, and in the sparkling wine of Saint Péray and it may be used in Châteauneuf -du -Pape. It is also used in the production of Montecarlo Bianco in Tuscany in Italy.

In Australia Roussanne is usually used with Marsanne in the Yarra Valley of Victoria to produce a Rhône style wine.

Taste/Aromas: An exotic, delicate, rich, and refined white wine. Flavors of lemon, and citrus. May exhibit a bit of earthiness and a waxy texture and the aroma of wild flowers

Regions: The Yarra Valley of Victoria. Nagambie lakes, Gipsland, Maclaren Vale and Queensland

Cellaring: Has the ability of graceful ageing for decades.

Food Bacon, Cajun fish, Cajun gumbo, calzone, cannelloni with ricotta, garlic chicken, chicken chow mein, Chinese cuisine with shrimp, won ton soup, vegetable couscous, crab cakes, creole, deviled eggs, quiche, escargots, smoked fish, spanakopita, hummus, chicken Tandoori, goose and chicken pâté, potato salad, Caesar salad, smoked salmon, smoked shellfish, cheese soufflé, and chicken tajines.