What SHOULD be the Queen of Whites?

[stevebody]

Different idea from "What is..."

I think Chardonnay, while always a great grape and the origin of two of the best whites I've ever tasted, has been overworked by eons of habitual buying/drinking. I've had a TON of customers who walk in and say, "Give me a case of a good white." When I recommend a Greco, Reisling, Arneis, Sauv Blanc, Viognier, Malvasia Bianca, etc., they say, "No, I mean a Chardonnay. I don't drink that weird stuff."

(Big Huge Sigh Here)

In asking this, I'm setting up a small logic trap because I suspect that most of the answers will still say Chard but I want to lobby hard for Viognier. I haven't found many flavors, in 30+ years of drinking Chard, that I haven't found, and in richer form, in Viognier. Granted, our domestic Viogs are being oaky/smokied to death, just the way we do Chard but I still think the best white I ever tasted was a St. Grillet (probably didn't spell that right) that I had at dinner with a couple of wine buddies. Also in the top 5 were Rostaing and Delas Condrieu.

Any thoughts?