Y. Rousseau’s Colombard is called “old vines,” but it could also be called “only vines,” as the vineyard sourced for these white grapes is one of the last of just two or three remaining sites planted to Colombard in the Russian River Valley. There was a time in California’s history when Colombard was the number one grape grown, predominantly in the Central Valley, where it was used to produce “easy drinkers” (aka jug wine), as well as add a crisp acidic backbone when blended with other white varietals. Oh how times have changed. Even in the grape’s native Gascony the Colombard vineyards are dwindling, as its prone to powdery rot and mildew. So, suffice it to say, Yannick was pleased to find these old vines growing in his new Northern California wine country home. And, like the passionate professional he is, he pays due respect with his expression of this lesser-known grape variety.
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Y.Rousseau 2015 Old Vines Colombard
If tasting wines from Y. Rousseau, a journey into the somewhat obscure (for California) Colombard grape is a must. Yannick, owner and winemaker of Y. Rousseau wines, is a native Gascon — as is the white grape Colombard. So it’s only appropriate that in 1996, while studying for his winemaking degree at Toulouse University and interning at Côtes de Gascogne, the first wine Yannick ever made was Colombard. When Yannick eventually founded Y. Rousseau Wines in 2008, Colombard was his “inaugural wine,” and, according to Yannick, remains one of his most popular.
Calling all Colombard
Colombard, have you heard of it? It’s a lesser-known wine grape varietal that grows in surprising quantities right here in California. Native to France’s South West region known as Côtes de Gascogne, here Colombard is predominantly blended with other grapes (or other fruits) and then distilled into eaux-de-vie, Cognac, and Armagnac.
Despite its French heritage, California has the highest number of Colombard vineyards in the world and, in fact, Colombard is one of the most planted white wine grape varieties in the whole state. So why is it that we see so little of it?
Y.Rousseau 2014 Pepé Merlot
Born and raised in the South West of France, it’s no wonder Yannick Rousseau, owner and winemaker of Y. Rousseau Wines, was bit by the winemaking bug as early as 5 years old. That’s when he and his grandfather, Pépé shared their first glass of homemade red wine together. According to Yannick, “Pépé hunted his own food, made his own wine, and was an artisan butcher.” With such a role model in his life, Yannick, too, has become a man who celebrates the bounty of the environment around him. The Y.Rousseau 2014 Pepé Merlot from Cavedale Vineyard is a nod to Yannick’s connection to his grandfather, his French country homeland, and his New World wine country.
Book Review: The Winemakers by Jan Moran
As you can probably tell from my library of books, not all wine books have to be non-fiction or reference material. I believe it was Horace who said, “The aim of the poet is to inform or delight, or to combine together, in what he says, both pleasure and applicability to life.” So it is, that good fictional literature will still teach us something about ourselves or life in general. And good wine literature will teach us something about, well, wine (and probably, still, ourselves and life in general…).
The Winemakers, by Jan Moran does all of the above. Sure, at its core, it’s a romance novel, but it bridges the gap between that traditional “chick-lit” genre and historical fiction while teaching us a bit about wine in the process.
