
Ep. 1720 Rossese By Russ Lorber | Italian Grape Geek
Italian Grape Geek
Episode Summary
Content Analysis Key Themes and Main Ideas 1. Introduction to Rossese, a rare red grape variety from Liguria, Italy. 2. The historical origins and genetic distinctions of the Rossese grape. 3. The challenging ""heroic viticulture"" and ideal growing conditions for Rossese. 4. The typical flavor profile and style of wines produced from Rossese. 5. Recommended food pairings and versatility of Rossese wines. 6. The limited availability and unique appeal of Rossese in the global market. Summary This episode of the Italian Wine Podcast, hosted by Russ, explores the Rossese grape, a distinctive red variety from Liguria in northwest Italy. Russ shares his personal interest in Rossese's lighter, fruit-forward style and delves into its historical references dating back to the 18th century. He highlights the challenging ""heroic viticulture"" required to cultivate Rossese in mountainous, well-drained calcareous clay soils, making it a difficult grape to work with. Genetically linked to the French Tibouren, Rossese produces fresh, easy-drinking red wines with notes of strawberry, red fruit, fresh rose, and balsamic herbs. The highest quality examples often come from the Dolceacqua area. Due to its limited production and complex cultivation, Rossese wines are not widely available, especially in the US, often requiring direct ordering. The episode concludes with versatile food pairing suggestions, noting its compatibility with lighter dishes, including the unusual but fitting pairing with fish and shellfish. Takeaways * Rossese is a unique red grape variety native to Liguria, Italy. * It produces light-bodied, fresh, and fruit-forward red wines with aromatic notes of strawberry, rose, and balsamic herbs. * The cultivation of Rossese involves ""heroic viticulture"" due to its preference for challenging mountainous, well-drained, calcareous clay soils. * The highest quality Rossese wines originate from the Dolceacqua area. * Rossese is genetically related to the French Tibouren grape. * Due to its challenging cultivation and small number of producers, Rossese wines are relatively rare and hard to find outside of Italy. * Rossese wines are versatile for food pairings, complementing light dishes, antipasti, and even fish or shellfish. Notable Quotes * ""The origins of the Rosese grape are unclear, but we start seeing references to it in the eighteenth century."
About This Episode
A representative from Italian wine podcasts discusses their community-driven platform and offers a free book and thank the audience for their support. They also give an example of a red grape from Nigoria and discuss various examples and pairing it with various foods. The representative emphasizes the importance of avoiding overpowering styles and pairing it with seafood.
Transcript
The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros, and we'll send you a copy of our latest book, my Italian Great Geek journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian GreatGeek journal, click support us at italian wine podcast dot com, or wherever you get your pods. Welcome to the Italian Great Geek podcast. Join us as we explore personal stories of travel and tasting with Italy's must know grape for idols. Short your own course with my Italian Great Geek journal. Your personal tasting companion to accompany the series. Available now on Amazon with thanks to calendula and partners for their generous support with this project. Hi. It's Russ. I'm back, and we are talking about Rose Sei, a red grape from Nigoria in the northwest of Italy. The origins of the Rosese grape are unclear, but we start seeing references to it in the eighteenth century. Personally for me, the Rosese grape was of interest because it aligns with my palette when it comes to red wines currently, which is more on the lighter side and more of a fresh fruit forward character. And it's also a category that I was less familiar with and so was looking to explore. We hear often from liguria about Vermentino and Tigato. So it was really interesting to learn about a red variety from this region as well. We see the highest quality examples of Rosesece from the Dolce aqua area, which is the far western part of liguria. Genetically, it's the same as a French grape called Tibon, and it's genetically distinct from other grapes with the Rosese name, including Rosese Bianco, Diarcola, and the Rosese de capo Kyesa. It's not a particularly easy grape to work with. So it needs mountainous lands that are away from the seed and have well drained soil, and it grows best in calcareous clay soil. Because of the mountainous terrain, the vines have to be hand tended. One of the examples of heroic viticulture that we see in Italy and there are relatively small number of producers, meaning it's not a grape that we see a whole lot in wines. It makes the fresher lighter right wines that are easy to drink that show typically easy to drink and show strawberry red fruit fresh red rose and balsamic herb characters. Some of the key d o c's include Rosese de Dolce aqua and Rosese de Riviera ligore de Pomenente. It's not a variety that we see very often in the US. And in order to explore this one, I actually had to do something which is very rare for me, which was to order it by mail, to get an example of a, it really is something that you have to go a little bit off the beaten path to explore. I always like to explore any given grape through different examples and as many different examples as I can get my hands on. And so if you can find a few different examples of Jose say, you can see maybe some of the differences in how it would be made. Some of the benchmark producers would include Terra Bianke, Anfuso, and Kai mancini. With food, I would not pair this wine with anything too overpowering because it is a very light red style. The classic pairings would be risotto and ravioli. But I'd also pair this with anti pasty and grilled vegetables. Finally, one of my favorite things is pairing red wine with fish and shellfish. And because of the nature of this wine, it lends itself very well to a seafood pairing as well. That's the story about Rosese. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, HimalIFM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italianline podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, and publication costs. Until next time.
Episode Details
Keywords
Related Episodes

Ep. 2538 Italian Wine Podcast 4 Friuli: In conversation with Mattia Manferrari of Borgo del Tiglio winery
Episode 2538

Ep. 2533 Becoming an Italian Grape Geek: Course Breakdown | Italian Grape Geek
Episode 2533

Ep. 2532 The Wines of Beaujolais with Natasha Hughes MW | Book Club with Richard Hough
Episode 2532

Ep. 2528 McKenna Cassidy interviews Liza and Lucas Grinstead of Grinsteads On The Wine | Next Generation
Episode 2528

Ep. 2526 How Can a Liquid Taste Like Stone? | The Art of Wine Storytelling with Ryan Robinson
Episode 2526

Ep. 2514 McKenna Cassidy interviews Marie Cheslik of Slik Wines | Next Generation
Episode 2514
