{{Short description|Variety of grape}} {{Infobox grape variety | name = Aligoté | color = Blanc | image = Aligoté 1.JPG | caption = | species = ''Vitis vinifera'' | also_called = Blanc de Troyes, Vert blanc, Chaudenet gris, Plant gris, and other synonyms | origin = France | hazards = <!-- Viticultural hazards --> | regions = (see major regions) | wines = }}
'''Aligoté''' is a white grape used to make dry white wines, especially in the Burgundy region of France where it was first recorded in the 18th century.<ref name=OCW-alig>winepros.com.au. {{Cite web|last= Oxford Companion to Wine|title= Aligoté|url= http://www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford_entry.jsp?entry_id=78|access-date= 2008-10-06|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080808190759/http://www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford_entry.jsp?entry_id=78|archive-date= 2008-08-08|url-status= dead}}</ref> Since it is tolerant to cold, this variety is also cultivated in Eastern European countries. In 2004, it was the 22nd most planted vine variety in the world at 45,000 hectares (110,000 acres).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor=Jancis Robinson |editor-link=Jancis Robinson |encyclopedia=Oxford Companion to Wine |edition=Third |title=Vine varieties |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-860990-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00janc/page/746 746] |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00janc/page/746 }}</ref>
==Description== Aligoté is used to produce a varietal white wine, and is sometimes included in the blend of Burgundian sparkling wine known as Crémant de Bourgogne. The varietal appellation Bourgogne Aligoté AOC is made exclusively from Aligoté grapes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CAHIER DES CHARGES DE L'APPELLATION D'ORIGINE CONTRÔLÉE BOURGOGNE ALIGOTE |url=https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNOCDCBourgogneAligote1.pdf |access-date=21 June 2024}}</ref> Traditionally, the cocktail ''kir'' (also known as ''vin blanc cassis'' in French) is made by adding cassis to an Aligoté wine. In blends, Aligoté adds acidity and structure to other varieties.<ref name="vino">[http://www.vinodiversity.com/aligote.html Aligote a high acid white wine variety]</ref> It is often blended with Sacy for this purpose.<ref name="Robinson pg 232">J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 232 Mitchell Beazley 1986 {{ISBN|1-85732-999-6}}</ref>
The grape ripens early with moderate yields and produces wines high in acidity that can be drunk young. Its aroma includes elements of apples and lemons.<ref name="terroir">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Bourgogne Aligote |url=http://www.terroir-france.com/region/burgundy_aligote.htm |access-date=2018-03-20 |website=terroir-france.com |publisher=Terroir-France, French Wine Guide}}</ref> Clive Coates says it is a variety of secondary importance in Burgundy which produces a light, primeur-style wine with slightly herbal flavour and rather higher acidity than the Chardonnay.<ref name="Coates pg 32">C.Coates ''Encyclopedia of the Wines and Domaines of France'' pg 32 Cassel & Co 2000 {{ISBN|0-304-35441-4}}</ref> The village of Bouzeron is considered to represent the region's finest examples of the variety<ref name=terroir/> with the appellation Bouzeron-Aligoté AOC restricting the yields to 45 hl/ha compared to the Bourgogne Aligoté AOC limited to 60 hl/ha.<ref name=OCW-alig/>
==Regional production== thumb|Aligoté wine from Burgundy. The grape is the second most popular white grape variety grown in Burgundy after Chardonnay, though it lies a long way behind in terms of planted area, with {{convert|1700|ha|acre}}<ref>[http://www.burgundy-wines.fr/index.php?p=226&art_id=178 Burgundy Wines - Grape varieties: The Aligoté grape]{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, accessed October 28, 2008</ref> against {{convert|12800|ha|acre}}.<ref>[http://www.burgundy-wines.fr/index.php?p=226&art_id=177 Burgundy Wines - Grape varieties: The Chardonnay grape] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119082814/http://www.burgundy-wines.fr/index.php?p=226&art_id=177 |date=2008-11-19 }}, accessed October 28, 2008</ref> The vines were once inter-planted and field blended with Chardonnay for the benefit of added acidity but the vines have long since been separated.<ref name="Clarke pg 35">Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 35 Harcourt Books 2001 {{ISBN|0-15-100714-4}}</ref> Aligoté often loses territory to more prestigious grape varieties and in some areas is relegated to less productive vineyard sections at the tops and bottoms of the slopes.<ref name="OCW-alig" /> In Burgundy the grape can be found along the fringe edges of the Côte-d'Or along Route Nationale 74, as well as in Mâconnais and Côte Chalonnaise.<ref name="Robinson pg 179">J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 179 Mitchell Beazley 1986 {{ISBN|1-85732-999-6}}</ref> There are also small plantings just east of the Rhone Valley around the city Die and in the commune of Pierrevert in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.<ref name="Clarke pg 35"/> It has its own AOC's, Bourgogne Aligoté and Bouzeron.
Aligoté is also produced in Eastern European countries,<ref name="vino" /> including Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Switzerland and Moldova. In Bulgaria, the grape is prized for its blending qualities and high acid; the quantity of Aligoté planted in Bulgaria is more than twice that in the grape's ancestral home of Burgundy.<ref name="Robinson pg 179" /> The grape is primarily found in the Stara Zagora Province around Chirpan.<ref name="Robinson pg 179" /> In Russia, it is used to make sparkling wines<ref name="vino" /> with varietal wines being made along the coast of the Black Sea around Gelendzhik.<ref>C. Fallis ''The Encyclopedic Atlas of Wine'' pg 380 Global Book Publishing 2004 {{ISBN|1-74048-050-3}}</ref>
Globally, Aligoté can be found in smaller plantings. It has been produced, though in very small quantity, by Australian wineries.<ref name="vino" /> In the United States, the wine is grown in Washington State, since it is resistant to the cold weather, and in California, where it is used mostly for blending. There have also been small, experimental plantings in Chile.<ref name="Clarke pg 35" /> In Canada, the grape is grown in Niagara by Chateau de Charmes.
==Origins== DNA fingerprinting has found Aligoté to be a crossing of Pinot noir and Gouais blanc, an ancestry consistent with an origin in Burgundy or nearby areas of eastern France.<ref name="Clarke pg 112">Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 112 Harcourt Books 2001 {{ISBN|0-15-100714-4}}</ref><ref name="VIVC Aligoté">[http://www.vivc.de/datasheet/dataResult.php?data=312 Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Aligote] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719113236/http://www.vivc.de/datasheet/dataResult.php?data=312 |date=2011-07-19 }}, accessed on June 18, 2008</ref>
==Synonyms== Synonyms for Aligoté include Aligotay, Alligotay, Alligoté, Blanc de Troyes, Carcairone blanc, Carcarone, Carchierone, Chaudenet, Chaudenet Gras, Giboudot blanc, Griset blanc, Karkarone Blank, Melon de Jura, Muhranuli, Mukhranudi, Pistone, Plant de Trois, Plant de Trois Raisins, Plant gris, Purion blanc, Selon Molon, Selon Odart, Troyen blanc, Vert blanc.<ref name="VIVC Aligoté"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.terroir-france.com/region/burgundy_aligote.htm Terroir-France: Aligoté ] *[http://www.vinodiversity.com/aligote.html Vino Diversity: Aligoté]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aligote}} Category:White wine grape varieties