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...so I am here in New York, on the jury panel to taste wines of the Cotes du Roussillon with regard to the Saint-Bacchus awards 2010, a competition originating in Roussillon that has been going on twenty-five years. This is one of my favorite regions in the world, and the La Maison de la Region Languedoc-Roussillon is very active showcasing wines of the region to the trade.

The wines have been chosen by the Master Tasters of Roussillon, an association that brings together winemakers, oenologists, sommeliers, and journalists like myself. The preliminary tasting took place April 10 2010 in Perpignan.

The Grand Jury is made up of several panels of judges, with each panel consisting of three to four tastings across several categories (dry white, fortified wines, red wines, etc). I was on the panel to choose red Cotes Du Roussillon. which is in the département called Pyrénées-Orientales, the eastern section of the Pyrenees.

marianne

Andrew Bell, who created the American Sommelier Association, had been named President of the Grand Jury. The room was filled with a who's who of famous faces from Manhattan's wine scene ... most sommeliers from top restaurants were there, lots of wine buyers, my friend Kevin the East Village Wine Geek wildly twittering photos ...

I spent several weeks in the region last summer - its huge, expansive, with endless blue skies and rolling hills. Fortified wines do well here because of the sunshine. The Rivesaltes region is known for its Muscat as early as the 14th century. Roussillon is the world's foremost producer of vins doux naturels.

Côtes du Roussillon reds must be made from at least three grape varieties with Syrah or Mourvèdre making up at least twenty percent, and Grenache (the most widely planted variety) or Carignan.

Whites are made up of Grenache Blanc, Maccabéo, and Marsanne, Roussanne, and Vermentino/Rolle, which together must make up at least 20 per cent of any white wine blend.

Muscat and Grenache are grown for vin doux naturel yet increasingly made into less alcoholic, dry vin de pays.

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