Editing Chardonnay (section)

==History==
[[File:Bouilleaud blanc.jpg|left|thumb|[[Gouais blanc]], one of the parent varieties of Chardonnay]]
For much of its history, a connection was assumed between Chardonnay and [[Pinot noir]] or [[Pinot blanc]]. In addition to being found in the same region of France for centuries, [[ampelographer]]s noted that the leaves of these plants have near-identical shape and structure. [[Pierre Galet]] disagreed with this assessment, believing that Chardonnay was unrelated to any other major grape variety. [[Viticulture|Viticulturalists]] [[Maynard Amerine]] and [[Harold Olmo]] proposed descent from a wild ''[[Vitis vinifera]]'' vine that was a step removed from white [[Muscat (grape)|Muscat]]. Chardonnay's true origins were further obscured by vineyard owners in [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]], who claimed that the grape's ancestry could be traced to the Middle East, from where it was introduced to Europe by returning [[Crusades|Crusaders]]. Little external evidence supports this theory.<ref name="Robinson pg 106-113"/> Another theory stated that it originated from an ancient [[Indigenous (ecology)|indigenous]] vine found in [[Cyprus]].<ref name="Clarke pg 63-73">Clarke, 2001, pp. 63-73.</ref>

Modern [[DNA fingerprinting]] research at [[University of California, Davis]], now suggests that Chardonnay is the result of a cross between the Pinot noir and [[Gouais blanc]] (Heunisch) grape varieties.<ref name="Oxford pg 154-156"/> The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] are thought to have brought Gouais blanc from [[Croatia]], and it was widely cultivated by peasants in [[Roman Gaul|eastern France]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chardonnay – Wine International Association WIA |url=https://wineinternationalassociation.org/chardonnay/ |access-date=2024-03-17 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Pinot of the French [[aristocracy]] grew in close proximity to the Gouais blanc, giving the two ample opportunity to interbreed. Since the two parents were genetically distant, many of the crosses showed [[hybrid vigour]] and were selected for further propagation. These "successful" crosses included Chardonnay and siblings such as [[Aligoté]], [[Aubin vert]], [[Auxerrois Blanc|Auxerrois]], [[Bachet noir]], [[Beaunoir]], [[Franc Noir de la-Haute-Saône]], [[Gamay Blanc Gloriod]], [[Gamay noir]], [[Melon (grape)|Melon]], [[Knipperlé]], [[Peurion]], [[Roublot]], [[Sacy (grape)|Sacy]],<ref name="Clarke pg 112">Clarke, 2001, pg 112</ref> and [[Dameron]].<ref name="VIVC">{{cite web | last =Maul | first =Erika |author2=Töpfer, Reinhard |author3=Eibach, Rudolf | title = Vitis International Variety Catalogue | publisher = Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof (IRZ), Siebeldingen, Germany | year = 2007 | url = http://www.vivc.de | access-date = 2007-10-19}}</ref>

===Clones, crossing, and mutations===
[[File:Chardonnay grapes close up.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Chardonnay grapes after [[harvest (wine)|harvest]]]]
As of 2006, 34 [[clone (plant)|clonal varieties]] of Chardonnay could be found in vineyards throughout France; most of these were developed at the [[University of Burgundy]] in [[Dijon]]. The so-called "Dijon clones" are bred for their adaptive attributes, with vineyard owners planting the clonal variety best suited to their ''terroir'' and which will produce the characteristics that they are seeking in the wine. Examples include the lower-[[yield (wine)|yielding]] clones 'Dijon-76', '95' and '96' that produce more flavor-concentrated clusters. 'Dijon-77' and '809' produce more aromatic wines with a "grapey" perfume, while 'Dijon-75', '78', '121', '124', '125' and '277' are more vigorous and higher-yielding clones. New World varieties include the '[[Mendoza (wine)|Mendoza]]' clone, which produced some of the early California Chardonnays. The 'Mendoza' clone is prone to develop ''[[millerandage]]'', also known as "hens and chicks", where the berries develop unevenly.<ref name="Oxford pg 154-156"/> In places such as [[Oregon wine|Oregon]], the use of newer Dijon clones has had some success in those regions of the [[Willamette Valley]] with climates similar to that of Burgundy.<ref name="Clarke pg 63-73"/>

Chardonnay has served as parent to several French-American [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] grapes, as well as [[crossings (vine)|crossings]] with other ''V. vinifera'' varieties. Examples include the hybrid [[Chardonel]], which was a Chardonnay and [[Seyval blanc]] cross produced in 1953 at the [[New York State Agricultural Experiment Station]]. [[Mutations (vine)|Mutations]] of the Chardonnay grape include the rare pink-berried 'Chardonnay Rose'; also 'Chardonnay Blanc Musqué', which produces an intensely aromatic wine.<ref name="Oxford pg 154-156"/> Chardonnay Blanc Musqué is mostly found around the [[Mâconnais]] village of [[Clessé, Saône-et-Loire|Clessé]] and sometimes confused with the 'Dijon-166' clone planted in [[South Africa]], which yields [[Muscat (grape)|Muscat]]-like aromas.<ref name="Clarke pg 63-73"/>

In the 1930s, Chardonnay was crossed with a [[Seibel grape]] to create the hybrid grape [[Ravat blanc]].<ref>J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pp. 874-875, Allen Lane (2012) {{ISBN|978-1-846-14446-2}}.</ref>