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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