The Wine Pair Podcast

WTF is Aligoté?

• The Wine Pair • Season 1 • Episode 197

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Sometimes known as the “other” white wine of Burgundy, Aligoté is the bargain white from one of the world’s most famous wine regions. It is the child of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc, the latter of which is a wine that many think is now extinct because French nobility hated it so much they burned and banned it. Aligoté is often used in sparkling wine, and as a standalone varietal, it is often described as acidic and neutral, making it a very good food wine. We agree with that description. It is not a complex wine, but it is a wine that is easy to drink and would be fantastic with fish, white meat, creamy sauces, and spicy foods. If you are looking for a reasonably priced alternative to expensive Burgundy wines, this may be right up your alley! We also talk about the latest red wine and ice cream craze and give our two cents about it, and we have a guest appearance from Frank Racioppi from Ear Worthy. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2022 Domaine de Rochebin Bourgogne Aligoté, 2017 Maison Chanzy Bouzeron Les Trois.

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Show Notes

Episode #197: WTF is Aligoté?  00:00

Hello, and once again it is Vine Time! A warm and hearty welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair!

If you are new to our podcast, here is what you can expect. If you love wine and want to find great wines at affordable prices, and you want to expand your wine horizons, and you want to have some laughs and fun while doing it - then you are in the right place! Each week we explore a different wine varietal, style, brand, or region of the winemaking world, and learn about what makes them worth knowing about. And then we taste 2-3 of those wines that are reasonably priced to let you know if they are worth your hard earned money. If that feels like your vibe, then we are super happy you are here. And, we are proud to say that Decanter Magazine calls us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining.

Well, Carmela, it’s true, as we said in the pre-game intro, this will be our last regular episode of the year, our last wine tasting and review. Are you kind of sad? Next week, your Christmas present will be a break from the podcast, and I will do a retrospective of our best and worst wines of the year, with excerpts from episodes in which we talked about them. So that will be really fun. And you’ll be in it as recordings from the past year.

But this week, we do have a wine to taste and review that I am really excited about called Aligoté (alley-go-tay), sometimes called the “other” white wine of Burgundy. I am excited about it because it is always fun to find a new white wine that we can add to our list, and because, frankly, we need to end 2025 on a good note - because it has been a hell of a year. Prices are up, layoffs are up, kindness and empathy are way down, and you know what, we just need some joy and love and peace and good vibes to end the year. And, if there is one thing our tribe can agree on is that wine can make you happy and bring people together. Amiright?!? 

The perfect example of that was our virtual wine tasting last night which was so much fun! Everyone had a great time getting to know each other and taste and review different wines, and I think we’ll have to do it again. All I can say is that we have the nicest, kindest, and most lovely listeners. You are fun and very sweet people!

Back to the podcast, we do have to talk about our wine this week which is Aligoté, and before we get to that, we have a few things to do including talking to Frank Racioppi who runs the publication Ear Worthy which is a newsletter and website and blog that he updates every week on podcasts he thinks are worthy of your time, and he focuses on independent podcasters like us and he featured us last month which we were thrilled about. He also is a listener of our show, and so here is our quick chat with Frank . . .

Interview with listener Frank who gave us our tribe name this week! 04:41

A big thanks to Frank for joining us, a fellow Italian American and wine fan! And we hope that you will spend some time checking out his site and signing up for his newsletter and we have links to them in our show notes so you don’t have to memorize the links. 


And, we keep saying it, because we keep meaning it, but we love doing these listener interviews, so if you have been thinking to yourself that you have a great idea for a tribe name but have been reluctant to reach out to us because you think Carmela is mean - give yourself a gift this holiday and reach out to us and tell us your tribe name. Not only do I look a little like Santa Claus, but the gift we will give you in return is a warm and hearty thank you and an invite to be on the podcast if you wish.

And, unlike Santa Claus, I am not watching you while you are sleeping or awake, I don’t know if you have been bad or good, and I will not sneak into your house to eat cookies in the middle of the night. Because that is just weird.Just send us an email at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and we will take care of the rest. It is really easy and fun, we promise.

Ok, Carmela, Aligoté is waiting for us, it is calling our name. It’s saying, hey buddy, are you going to keep talking about other stuff or are you going to pay some attention to me. And, we will get to you in a minute, Aligoté, but we do have something we have to get to first because we are getting some breaking news . . .

WIne in the news this week: Wine moms have a new holiday cocktail: vanilla ice cream and red wine  11:04


Our Wine in the News This Week article comes to us from Lindsey Weedston from the publication Daily Dot, and it is entitled Wine moms have a new holiday cocktail: vanilla ice cream and red wine

We heard about this when we were on our little road trip this past weekend, and we both looked at each other and said this should be our wine in the news topic this week. My first question for you is are you a wine mom, Carmela, and don’t you think that is a derogatory term?

Back to the story, here is the scoop (pun intended), and this trend is evidently blowing up on TikTok right now which I would know if I paid attention to TikTok but I ain’t that cool. Here’s what it is - people are taking a scoop of vanilla ice cream, putting it in a wine glass, and then pouring red wine on it, making something akin to a red wine ice cream float.

Now, it looks really pretty in pictures, but I also bet it looks better than it tastes, and I think you have to be super careful about what wine you put in the float. 

Now, before you make that face, and I see that face, we have to look at this from both sides. Because the internet is completely at war over this.

On one side, you have the haters, some may call them purists, but they are people who are screaming, "Why are you ruining perfectly good wine?" The Daily Dot article, which we have a link to in our show notes - did you know we have those on our website?!? They call this concoction "purple sludge" and say the texture is weird, the flavors clash, and it’s just frankly gross.

BUT! Then you have the people on the other side who say this is the ultimate "high-low" holiday dessert. To demystify what high-low means, this reference to high-low is called that because it takes the "fancy" element of wine and crashes it into the "humble" nature of vanilla ice cream. It’s similar to other famous high-low pairings like Champagne with potato chips or fried chicken. Many writers, including  those for Martha Stewart Living and Taste of Home who tried it and said they like it for a variety of reasons

  • One said the fat in the ice cream tames the tannins in the wine, while the wine prevents the ice cream from being "cloying" or too sugary
  • Another said it reminded her of "sherbet" or something nostalgic from childhood
  • Multiple sources describe the flavor profile specifically as a "grown-up berries and cream"


As you would expect, the wine you use matters. The experts say you cannot use a super oaky, super tannic, and dry wine like Cabernet or Barolo. You have to use something lighter, and very fruity with low oak and lighter tannins. The perfect choice is actually Lambrusco, and you know we love a Lambrusco! A fizzy, chilled red wine is a great choice. Other choices could include Gamay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Malbec, and Port.

So, a question for you, Carmela. Would you try it, and do you think it would be good or terrible? If you were to serve it, how would you put it together?

But, Carmela, we are not here to talk about ice cream and red wine floats or TikTok trends, Carmela. No. We are here to talk about the white wine from Burgundy called Aligoté so we can find out if anyone should actually be talking about it, and we have two Aligoté wines we are going to taste and review to see if they should go on your wine list . . . 

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

Thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and remember, we buy all of our own wine so that we can give you real and honest reviews, and we do all of the writing and recording and editing to  bring you a show every week because we love you all, and all we ask you for in return is that you please follow or subscribe to our podcast and also please leave us a nice rating and review  to help us grow our listeners - and a huge thank you to all of you who have done so already! 

You can also follow us on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast, and on Bluesky. You can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there and you can also visit our “Shop Wine” section where you can find links to buy the wines that we rate as buys in each episode. 

And we want to make content you care about and you like, so send us a note or DM us and give us some feedback or let us know if there are wines you want us to try or wine making areas of the world you are curious about - and we’ll take care of it! joe@thewinepairpodcast.com

  • Tips2LiveBy on BS who posted a commercial of Riunite on Ice from the 70’s!
  • A quick note that we have been added to a list on a service called “Million Podcasts” where we are one of their Top Wine Podcasts on the web. So, it is nice to be included on that list. 
  • A big thank you to all the people who joined us for our virtual tasting, including Ted, Heber and Angela AKA East Idaho Foodies, Christine R aka Tips2Liveby - who also posted a commercial of Riunite on Ice from the 70’s!, Christina R and her husband, Ryan, Timmy, Adrienne aka Art Metal Girl, Hasini, and Yordana. A few folks couldn’t make it, so we will try and grab them the next time!


And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should recommend The Wine Pair Podcast to - because the best way for us to grow listeners is when you tell your family and friends about us - and this week, we want you to recommend us to anyone who is looking for a new zingy white wine to try that ain’t Chardonnay and ain’t from California, and want something that may spark some interesting conversation this Holiday season because they may dig this episode. Send them this episode as a gift!


RESEARCH ARTICLES AND LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE



Topic: WTF is Aligoté? 18:12

Carmela, I think it’s time to learn more about just what the eff Aligoté is, what do you say?!?

The first thing we need to know is that Aligoté is the offspring of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc (Goo-Way), which means it is also a sibling to several other wines from the same Burgundy-ish area that have these wines as parents including Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, and Melon de Bourgogne aka Muscadet. Now, your first question may be the same as mine - what is Gouais Blanc? 

Well, Gouais Blanc is a grape that obviously has some importance because of its famous children, and some say it is thought to be extinct today, and others say it is still grown in a few places like Oregon and Switzerland. So it may be dead, or it may not be. It has also been referred to as one of the “bastard varieties” and was banned for many years in Europe. Which is not nice.

Without going into too much detail, Gouais Blanc was considered very mediocre, grew like a weed, produced tons of grapes, and made a very sour wine that was mostly drunk by peasants. The Kings of France hated this grape so much they even passed laws to ban and burn the vines. But, again, Gouais Blanc got the last laugh because some of the most expensive wines in the world are made from its offspring!

But, back to Aligoté, the child of this “bastard wine.” Aligoté is said to have first emerged in Burgundy in the 17th century and the earliest written records date back to 1780, where it was referred to by the synonym Plant de Trois, because it generally bears fruit in three clusters. Other synonyms include Vert Blanc, Chaudenet Gris, and Griset Blanc.

For centuries, Aligoté was often relegated to a secondary, "second-class status" and viewed as the "other" white grape of Burgundy even though it was historically cultivated alongside Chardonnay in some prestigious vineyard sites like Montrachet. I don’t think you have ever been called the other grape, have you, Carmela.

Well, Aligoté just never found the same reputation even though it was planted near Chardonnay, and after the phylloxera plague in the late 19th century which wiped out wine grapes across Europe, many vineyards in Burgundy were replanted almost exclusively with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, ignoring Aligoté, and if they did elect to grow Aligoté, it was selected to grow on the least favorable parts of the vineyards, like the highest and lowest sections of slopes

So, they kind of treated Aligoté pretty shabbily. Poor Aligoté!

Aligoté is said to make a very acidic wine, sometimes called zippy, and it was often used as a blending grape to add some freshness and zip to wines. It has actually been a key component in Crémant de Bourgogne, which, as you would expect, is the region's sparkling wine. Some California winemakers add it to their Chardonnay to give it some more acidity, but they do not do this in Burgundy as far as I can tell.

The reputation of Aligoté started to turn in 1937 with the creation of the regional AOC, Bourgogne Aligoté, which permitted its production throughout the Burgundy region. But, the big turning point in its reputation came via legendary winemaker Aubert de Villaine (co-manager of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti)

Evidently, in the 1970s, de Villaine began reviving a neglected estate in the Côte Chalonnaise. In 1997, the village of Bouzeron was awarded AOC status, becoming the only Village appellation in Burgundy dedicated exclusively to Aligoté. So, the short story is, when Romanée-Conti starts paying attention, everyone starts paying attention!

In France, Aligoté is basically only grown in Burgundy, but there are lots of other places growing it today, particularly in Eastern Europe where it is often used for sparkling wine. Key countries where it is grown include Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, and Russia. They are also growing it in Switzerland, Washington State, California, Australia, and in the Niagara area of Canada. 

Today, the reputation of Aligoté is growing pretty dramatically, driven by both determined winemakers and changing consumer preferences - because consumers are starting to prefer lighter, zippier wines over fruit and oak bombs

  •  Aligoté is seen as a climate-change-friendly alternative to Chardonnay because its high acidity helps maintain freshness and structure even in the warmer vintages
  • Modern winemakers are also challenging the traditional perception that Aligoté must be drunk young,. They are experimenting with techniques such as oak fermentation, extended lees aging, and malolactic fermentation to soften the acidity
  • Despite the rise in quality it is experiencing, Aligoté still offers wine lovers a way to experience the high pedigree of Burgundy at a discount, because it can cost 40–60% less than a village-level Chardonnay from the same producer. Right up our alley.


From a taste profile perspective, Aligoté is often compared to Grüner Veltliner, Picpoul, Albariño, Soave, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chablis.

But that’s enough information. I think it’s time to learn a little more about the specific wines we are drinking today. Whaddya say?


Aligoté Wines We Chose for This Episode 25:11

As usual, the wines we have chosen for this episode are under $25, and both of them should be relatively easy to find because I bought them both at wine.com. I will say that Aligoté is probably not the easiest of wines to find, but if you go to a wine shop with a good French wine selection, and in particular a good Burgundy wine selection, you should have no trouble finding it. Otherwise, as always, check with your local wine shop and they will happily find some for you.  

The first wine we are going to drink today is the 2022 Domaine de Rochebin Bourgogne Aligoté. The tech sheet for the wine was not terribly helpful, but it did clarify that it is 100% Aligoté, and that they ferment for 25 days at low temperatures in stainless steel vats. 

They also used a term I have not heard before - they say they use “blocked malolactic fermentation” which means they use intervention to force malolactic fermentation to stop, usually by adding sulfur (which is not the same as sulfites) or Lysozyme which is an enzyme made from egg whites which is added to kill the lactic acid bacteria. So, a couple of things. This process means a lot of intervention, so this is not a natural wine, and if they are using lysozyme it is also not vegan. The reason these winemakers do this “blocked malolactic fermentation” is to keep the wine really crisp and acidic. 

They also said they age for 5 months using élevage, which again means they are again intervening with the wine to rack it and filter it among other things before they bottle it. Racking again is a natural way to filter wines by moving it from container to container, leaving behind residue.

A few other notes about the winery, the Domaine dates back more than 1,000 years when it was part of the Abbey of Cluny. So, here is that theme again. You want to follow the alcohol, follow the monks because these monks were famous for making wine, they basically established the most iconic wines and grapes of Burgundy, namely Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Gamay, and they had the largest church in the Christian world on their property until St. Peter’s was built in Rome. Put that in your effing brain box and tell that to your friends around the Christmas tree with some egg nog how bout.

The next wine we are going to drink is the 2017 Maison Chanzy Bouzeron Les Trois, so this is definitely a bit older wine, and this one got some good reviews including a 90 from Wine Spectator. This wine is also 100% Aligoté and is in the Côte Chalonnaise appellation which is known for producing good bargains in Burgundy for both reds and whites making it popular among sommeliers “in the know.” The ones who like to find good wines at reasonable prices for their patrons. Like me!

The tech sheet gave more extensive information about the wine, and they say the soils are clay and limestone, the wines were fermented in stainless steel and did undergo malolactic fermentation, and they age the wine for 7 months, so just a bit longer than the first wine, before bottling. This looks to be a bone-dry wine with less than a gram of residual sugar. It also looks like they also give it some partial aging in oak barrels, but it doesn’t say when in the process that happened, and they did not indicate how much of the juice was aged in oak. So, I would expect this to be a different wine than the first because of the oak and malolactic fermentation, likely rounder and less zippy. But we will see.

The grapes come from three different vineyards, hence the name “Les Trois,”  and this is a wine imported by Winebow in New York if you care about that. Again, sometimes you can tell if you are going to like a wine if you like the importer, so that is something you can pay attention to. 

But, I think that is enough information - let’s get to drinking! We’ll take a quick break and be right back. And, if you have these wines or similar wines, drink along with us to get some participation points, which you can trade-in for free stickers. You just need to send me an email with your mailing address, and I will get those “I drink with The Wine Pair Podcast” stickers over to you!


LINKS TO SOURCES FOR THESE SPECIFIC WINES



2022 Domaine de Rochebin Bourgogne Aligoté, 2017 Maison Chanzy Bouzeron Les Trois Wine Tasting, Pairing, and Review 30:28

Wine: Domaine de Rochebin Bourgogne Aligoté (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: France, Burgundy
Year: 2022
Price: $22.97
Retailer: wine.com 
Alcohol: 12.5%
Grapes: Aligoté
Professional Rating: Vivino: 3.4

What we tasted and smelled in this Domaine de Rochebin Bourgogne Aligoté: 

  • Color: Lemon yellow, gold leaf, pretty and light
  • On the nose: Vanilla candle, waxed Honeycrisp apple, lemon, creamy, marshmallow, sea water
  • In the mouth: Lime or lemon peel, grapefruit, bitter on the end with a long aftertaste, not a lot of fruit, green apple, white grape, white peach, a little gasoline 


Food to pair with this Domaine de Rochebin Bourgogne Aligoté: Needs food, stuffed chicken, sushi with wasabi, spicy tuna roll, spicy foods, General Taso’s chicken, shrimp over pasta with cream and spice, lobster risotto
 
As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, with no half points, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it. 

Domaine de Rochebin Bourgogne Aligoté Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 7/10
  • Carmela: 6/10


Wine: Maison Chanzy Bouzeron Les Trois (Click here to find this wine on wine.com. We may be compensated if you purchase)
Region: France, Burgundy
Year: 2017
Price: $26.97
Retailer: wine.com
Alcohol: 12.5%
Grapes: Aligoté
Professional Rating: 92 W&S (Wine & Spirits), 90 WS Vivino 3.8

What we tasted and smelled in this Maison Chanzy Bouzeron Les Trois : 

  • Color: Very light lemon, straw
  • On the nose: Creamy, vanilla, cotton candy, marshmallow fluff, a light sweetness, very little fruit, pineapple, orange rind
  • In the mouth: Lemon, a touch of tropical fruit, very light, honey, very little bitterness, smooth, neutral balance, light, refreshing


Food to pair with this Maison Chanzy Bouzeron Les Trois: Flaky white fish, sole or cod, Feast of the Seven Fishes, spaghetti with clams, breaded clams, a seafood and shellfish wine

Maison Chanzy Bouzeron Les Trois Wine Rating: 

  • Joe: 7/10
  • Carmela: 7/10


Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

  • Carmela: Maison Chanzy Bouzeron Les Trois
  • Joe: Maison Chanzy Bouzeron Les Trois



Taste profiles expected from Aligoté 42:21

  • General 
    • Flavors and aromas of lemon, lime blossom, green apple, ripe pear, apricot, white flowers, fresh herbs, wet stone, flint, and saline. Often called neutral or simple in flavor
  • Domaine de Rochebin Bourgogne Aligoté
    • Winery: Fruity bouquet of apple, lemon with hints of floral. On the palate it is energetic with citrus notes.
  • Maison Chanzy Bouzeron Les Trois
    • Winery: It is characterised by fruity notes with a beautiful mineral quality on the palate. Ageing on lees gives it body and volume.
    • W&S: this is a wholesome white with pale, earthy savor and a buzz of tart fruit acidity. The rich flavor is layered with scents of white flowers, apple blossoms and meaty notes of boudin blanc, giving this the feel of an antique Burgundy. Soul-satisfying Aligoté.
    • WS: This white delivers an appealing mix of white peach, apple, lemon, stone and saline flavors. It’s balanced and lively, its vibrant structure driving a lingering aftertaste


What is the verdict on Aligoté? 44:15
A nice wine to try, neutral, a good summer wine, not blowing us away, good with food, could be a crowd pleaser, may be a good choice if you have people who can’t agree on a wine to drink


Wines coming up in future episodes in case you want to drink along with us 44:54

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 45:19

Ok, so, Carmela, it’s time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to follow or subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

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Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.

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