Aligoté

[ah-lee-gaw-TAY] White wine grape that is widely cultivated in and around burgundy. It's considered less important and distinguished than the chardonnay grape, and, in most cases, wines developed from the Aligoté are not as rich or long-lived as those from Chardonnay. Older Aligoté vines have been known to produce some very nice wines, which often exhibit citrusy and, occasionally, nutty characteristics. Burgundian wines made from this grape are labeled bourgogne aligoté ac or, when they come from the village of Bouzeron in the cote chalonnaise, bourgogne aligoté de bouzeron ac. The Aligoté grape is losing out to Chardonnay, and vineyard plantings have been reduced in the last 15 years. However, it remains popular in some eastern European countries including Bulgaria and Romania. The Aligoté grape is also called Blanc de Troyes, Chaudenet Gris, and Plant Gris.