Auxerrois (grape)

Auxerrois blanc
Grape (Vitis)
Auxerrois in Weinsberg, Germany
Color of berry skin	Blanc
Species	Vitis vinifera
Also called	Auxerrois, Pinot Auxerrois (more)
Origin	France
Notable regions	Alsace

Auxerrois blanc (pronounced [o.sɛʁ.wa blɑ̃]) or Auxerrois Blanc de Laquenexy is a white wine grape that is important in Alsace, and is also grown in Germany and Luxembourg. It is a full sibling of Chardonnay that is often blended with the similar Pinot blanc.

Auxerrois blanc is thought to have originated in Lorraine, rather than near Auxerre in the Yonne. Recent DNA fingerprinting suggests that it is a cross between Gouais blanc and Pinot noir, the same ancestry as Chardonnay. The name Auxerrois blanc has actually been used as a synonym for Chardonnay in the Moselle region in France, which explains why there is also a longer name (Auxerrois Blanc de Laquenexy) for the grape variety.

Seldom seen in the New World, a little is grown in North America and South Africa.

France's 1,950 hectares (4,800 acres) of Auxerrois blanc are mostly in Alsace, with some in the Côtes de Toul of Lorraine. It is mostly blended into wines called "Pinot blanc" (which may actually consist of Auxerrois blanc, the variety Pinot blanc, Pinot gris and Pinot noir vinified white). It is an important component of Crémant d'Alsace.

In Germany and Luxembourg it is known simply as Auxerrois. In Germany 218 hectares (539 acres) were grown in 2012, mainly in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate (135 hectares (334 acres)) and Baden-Württemberg (72 hectares (178 acres)). The main growing areas were Baden (wine region)(71 hectares (175 acres)) and Palatinate (wine region) (69 hectares (171 acres)).