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White Wine
Chardonnay, (shah-don-nay) rather than the former name of Pinot Chardonnay, is now the official name for this variety in France and California, two places where it is widely grown, to avoid confusion with Pinot Blanc. In France most of the plantings are in the Burgundy and Champagne regions. In California it was not widely grown until selected clones of high yield became available. Expansion since then has been rapid and there are now around 40 000 ha planted. Chardonnay is grown in many other countries but it is sometimes difficult to know how much confusion there may be with Pinot Blanc. There have been small plantings of Chardonnay in Australia for many years, but only relatively recently has that the variety has become popular, with plantings now in excess of 24 000 ha.
