Aligoté is the "other" grape of white Burgundy. Chardonnay is, obviously, Burgundy's white wine champion. But Aligoté makes some gorgeous wines of incredible distinction. 

In your parents' day Aligoté may have been known as the high-toned... Read More

Aligoté is the "other" grape of white Burgundy. Chardonnay is, obviously, Burgundy's white wine champion. But Aligoté makes some gorgeous wines of incredible distinction. 

In your parents' day Aligoté may have been known as the high-toned white wine to which you added a little Cassis to make a Kir. But today, many of Burgundy's very best growers have small plots of Aligoté they tend with same devotion they show Pinot Noir or Chardonnay -- and the wines are great! There's even an AOC, Bouzeron, devoted exclusively to Aligoté-based wines.

Some producers are very proud of their vines of  Aligoté Doré --"Golden Aligoté" in English. Aligoté Doré is an old, lower-yielding clone of Aligoté that these growers believe make superior wines to the higher-yielding but less interesting "Aligoté Vert." But other growers insist that Aligoté Vert makes equally delicious wines as long as growers are conscientious and keep yields low.