With Pink Skins, Rosa Chardonnay Is a Rare (and Gorgeous) Mutation

You can’t help but become captivated when someone mentions Rosa Chardonnay, an enigmatic grape also sometimes called Chardonnay Rose (like the flower), the naming of which has nothing to do with rosé (though it could make one). An ultra-rare mutation of Chardonnay with pink skins, it is stubbornly resistant to googling (and also likely bunch rot and botrytis). The path to tracking down its provenance and plantings outside France is considerably more book-based.

A small tonnage appears every year on the Lodi Winegrape Commission’s grape report because LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards has nine rows planted (and, according to President Marrissa Lange, intends to make sparkling wine from them). Then, the trail goes somewhat cold.

There are conflicting reports of where the unique mutation originated. While the grape can be found growing in Montpellier, some say it first came from Baden, Germany or Alsace. Others think it had a Burgundian birth in Mâcon. The 1979 edition of Pierre Galet’s A Practical Ampelography (a grape identification book) mentions “There exists a Chardonnay Rose, which is not propagated…” but offers no more information. A clone has now been cleaned up at Geisenheim University in Germany and is being studied there. That clone is available for propagation, but the folks at Geisenheim did not have much light to shed on its history.

“We are hoping that it has some other benefits besides the beautiful cosmetic ones,” says Aaron Lange, vice president of vineyard operations at LangeTwins, who sourced the Geisenheim clone planted in Lodi from a nursery and is curious to see what it can contribute. “Those pink skins seem to be a little more durable, less prone to rot and perhaps less prone to sunburn for those heat events that are predicted to increase in frequency for the foreseeable future.”

Rosa ripens a bit later than regular Chardonnay, which may explain why it retains acidity well. The blushing pink hue doesn’t come to the berries until they reach about 21 or 22 brix, so almost full maturity. If pressed gently without skin contact there’s no detectable color in the resultant wine, though phenolics from the skin can add complexity. All might be reasons why growers in Champagne are beginning to propagate it more widely.

“Unfortunately, I think it is going to require a trip to France to really understand the history of this selection,” says Aaron Lange, suggesting hopefully that we hop a flight. At this juncture, we are still waiting to hear back from accounting.

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