The origin of this wine comes from the hills of Jerusalem, because this variety grows well in clayey soils (such as those in Jerusalem) and the word Chardonnay has Jewish origins. The first Crusaders, on their return from the Middle East, also reported that the wine’s original name was Porte de Dieu because it was the translation of the Hebrew name Shahar Adonay, which means ‘the gate of God’. The vineyards were all around Jerusalem, the holy city, whose doors were all leading to the Temple of God.

In Europe, the cultivation of this variety developed  in Burgundy where it was originally planted by the Cistercian monks of the abbey of Pontigny, from where it spread gradually throughout the world at the end of the XIX century.

The Chardonnay got to Romagna in the early Seventies, where it found its natural habitat in the clayey soils of the Bertinoro hills. On the most hidden hills, grape ripening takes place about ten days later compared to the vineyards overlooking the sea.
It is normally used as the basis for the production of sparkling wines and is best expressed in Celli’s oak aged version Bron & Ruseval Chardonnay.