Aligoté
Template:Short description Template:Infobox grape variety
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. Template:Cite web</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>Template:Cite encyclopedia</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>Template:Cite web</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">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 Template:ISBN</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">Template:Cite web</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 Template:ISBN</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
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 Template:Convert<ref>Burgundy Wines - Grape varieties: The Aligoté grape, accessed October 28, 2008</ref> against Template:Convert.<ref>Burgundy Wines - Grape varieties: The Chardonnay grape, 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 Template:ISBN</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 Template:ISBN</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 Template:ISBN</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 Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="VIVC Aligoté">Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Aligote Template:Webarchive, 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"/>