Before Chardonnay became synonymous with white Burgundy, there was another grape quietly growing alongside it.
Aligoté.
Bright. Fresh. Mineral. Often wonderfully savory. And increasingly finding its way into the hands of adventurous winemakers far beyond its Burgundian roots—including right here in Santa Barbara wine country.
For the inaugural tasting in The Beauty & The Bounty: A to Z Wine Type Educational Series, we're beginning exactly where we should:
A is for Aligoté.
Join Sonja Magdevski for an afternoon devoted entirely to discovering this fascinating white grape through the best possible kind of education:
Tasting it.
We'll travel from Santa Barbara County to beyond, tasting Aligoté through different places and producers and exploring what happens when the same grape is interpreted through different soils, climates, winemaking decisions, and points of view.
Along the way, we'll discover:
🍇 Aligoté 101 — what it is, where it comes from, and why it has historically lived in Chardonnay's shadow
🇫🇷 Its deep roots in Burgundy and its evolving reputation
🌊 What Aligoté can look like when grown in Santa Barbara County
🌎 How expressions from different regions compare in the glass
👃 How to recognize its aromas, flavors, texture, acidity, and structure
🌱 The role of site, climate, farming, and winemaking in shaping a wine
🥂 Why a grape once considered Burgundy's "other white" is attracting renewed attention
🧀 And, for those adding the cheese pairing, how food can transform what you perceive in the glass
You don't need to know anything about Aligoté.
That's the point.
The Beauty & The Bounty is about slowing down, tasting thoughtfully, asking questions, and discovering just how much there is to learn when we devote an afternoon to one grape at a time.
No wine snobbery.
No test at the end.
Just curiosity, conversation, beautiful wine—and the pleasure of learning something new.
THE BEAUTY & THE BOUNTY
A to Z. Grape by grape. Glass by glass.
Saturday, September 12 | 2–4 PM
$30 Tasting | $40 Tasting + Cheese Pairing
Clementine Carter Wines
388 Bell Street • Los Alamos, CA
RSVP to sonja@clementinecarterwines.com 🍷
