Marsanne

Marsanne () is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as grosse roussette. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known as ermitage blanc or just ermitage), Spain (where it is known as Marsana), Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

==Wine regions== thumb|left|A white Crozes-Hermitage produced from 100% Marsanne. As is the case for most French AOC wines, the variety is not mentioned on the front label. The grape most likely originated in the Northern Rhône region where it is widely planted today, more precisely in the village and abbey of Marsanne (Drôme). It is a principal component of the white wines from the Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and Saint-Joseph AOCs. It is the most widely planted white wine grape in the Hermitage AOC, where it is often blended with Roussanne. Along with Roussanne, up to 15% of Marsanne can be added to the red wine of Hermitage under ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) regulations. In the Saint-Péray AOC, it is used for both still and sparkling wine production. In the Southern Rhône, Marsanne is not one of the white grapes permitted in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC, although Roussanne is. (In Châteauneuf-du-Pape blends, Clairette blanc adds similar characteristics as Marsanne.) It can be found in some white wines from the Côtes du Rhône AOC. Although Marsanne is mostly made into a dry wine, it is commonly made into a sweet wine in Valais, Switzerland and some producers in the Rhône have also experimented with making a dessert-style straw wine with Marsanne.