Although it was the Romans who introduced vines to Chablis, as to so many other parts of france, it was the medieval church, notably the Cistercian monks of the nearby abbey of Pontigny, who firmly established viticulture as an essential part of the rural economy, possibly even introducing the Chardonnay vine. See burgundy, history.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the Yonne as a whole was a flourishing wine region, with some 40,000 ha of vines. Vineyards lined the banks of the River Yonne, as far as Joigny and Sens. The best known of these Yonne wines was Chablis and the name was used to describe the ample quantities of dry white wine that was transported with great convenience along the Rivers Yonne and Seine to satisfy the vast and thirsty Parisian market.
