Learn About Loire Valley Wines

How much do you know about Loire Valley wines? Chances are, not much, but serious wine lovers appreciate them for their diversity, due to the wide range of soils and microclimates along this great river system that cuts France in half and divides the cool north from the warm south.

There are 43 000 hectares of vineyards in the Loire Valley, in 14 départements (counties) stretching from the Vendée in the Atlantic coastal lowlands to the Puy-de-Dôme in the eastern Massif Central uplands. It's the third biggest wine producing area in France and includes over 60 different appellations (designated geographically defined protected names that wines may be sold under).

The wines of the Central Loire (around Orléans) include Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Pouilly-sur-Loire, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, Coteaux du Giennois, Chateaumeillant,  Cotes de la Charité, and Coteaux de Tannay. Sancerre is by far the best known of these appellations, covering an area of 2600 hectares, with soils ranging from flinty or chalky to clay or sandy. The average age of the vines in Sancerre is 25 years, primarily the white sauvignon blanc variety.

In Loir-et-Cher the appellations include Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny. The latter is a tiny appellation of just 50 hectares, working solely with a rare white grape variety called Romorantin, found nowhere else. I always think the wines of Loir-et-Cher are some of the best kept secrets of France, as not even the French are very familiar with them. They are extremely good value for very good wines as a result.

In Indre-et-Loire, where we live, we have the wines of the Touraine. The main appellations are Chinon, Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, Vouvray, Montlouis-sur-Loire and Touraine. The reds are light and fruity, the whites dry and floral, or fruity with a nice acidic finish, depending on grape variety.

Along the Loire there are about 400 caves touristiques where visitors can taste a range of red, white, rosé and sparkling wines in cellars presenting local wines. We can help you visit some of our favourites.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Where in the Loire Valley Can You See This Splendid Tomb?

Where in the Loire Valley can you see this splendid tomb, and who is buried there? Who are the characters depicted and why are they there? If you are intrigued and want to know more, let us create an itinerary for your tour that includes this tomb.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

A Review from an Author Researching the Loire Valley

Many thanks to Donna, who took the time to write a review of her 3 hour walking tour of Chenonceau. She was in the Loire Valley researching a book. Her husband Jack got to tag along, as they were visiting from the United States in May 2023.

 

"Susan was amazing -- she customized the walk for my specialized needs -- I'm focused on the 11th/12th centuries which is not a typical period she covers but she did the research and did an amazing job pinpointing the parts of the tour that would interest me the most. She was full of knowledge, and answered all of our random questions -- from the type of trees that grew in the nearby woods in the 11th century to questions about what hung on castle walls in the 12th century."

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Buy Your Tickets Online For Chenonceau

We advise clients to buy their tickets online for the Chateau of Chenonceau no later than 4 days before they plan to visit, whether they are going to be accompanied by us or going independently. The chateau is very strict about visitor entry time slots during days of high visitor numbers. These include all the May long weekends, which are usually the busiest days of all during the year, and of course, the summer school holidays, in July and August. During these periods the "chateau is full" signs will often go out by lunchtime. If you turn up wanting to visit you will be allowed in to the grounds, for a reduced price, but not inside the already packed chateau. 

 

If you are buying tickets online, only do so from the official site [link], as anywhere else can only sell you a voucher, with no time attached. This gains you nothing, as you still have to call in to the ticket office to exchange your voucher and be allocated a time slot. You could easily miss out on your preferred timeslot, or not get one at all.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

A Bit of Steam Punk With Your Chateaux Tour?

The Loire Valley is not just all about Renaissance chateaux, although no doubt that's what most visitors come for. There is a surprising amount of 19th century industrial heritage too though, which is well worth making a short stop along your route to see. And that is exactly what we do on our tours. A good example are the éoliennes Bollée, wind turbines for pumping water, which you will get to see if we pass one of the survivors. Very steam punk!

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel.