Loire

The „royal river“ covers a distance of 1.000 kilometres running from ist source in the (Massif Central) in southern central France to its mouth on the Atlantic coast in the west. The river gives its name to this huge wine-growing region with a total vienyard area of around 70.000 hectares. The source of the Loire lies to the south of Lyon, it first flows north in an arc, and then tuns west at Orléans. It crosses through 12 départements, and takes on water from 10 tributaries. Most of the vineyards are located along and to both sides of these river vallies. Significant viticulture is undertaken along some 400 kilometres of the banks of the Loire river. The Romans first planted vines here around 2.000 years ago. The wines were very popular in England and Holland in the 11th century, and were exported to these coutnries. The Cistercian monks established a vineyard close to Savennières in the 12th century, the Coulée-de-Serrant site, which is famous today. The French kings and aristocracy built many castles and hunting lodges along the Loire, the most beautiful of these date from the time of the Renaissance under king Francis I. (1494–1547). He engaged the services of Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) at his court, the artist died at Amboise castle, and Jeanne d`Arc (1412–1431) met king Charles VII. (1403-1461) fort he first time at Chinian, in order to motivate him to go to war against England. The UNESCO declared the „Val de Loire“ (Loire valley) to be a world cultural heritage site in 2000.

Because of its size, the region has a wide range of climatic conditions, from continental, close to the Massif Central, to Atlantic at the mouth of the Loire. In combination with the different types of soil, this results in many different tapes of wine being produced. Nevertheless, they have some common characteristics, such as fruitiness, fresh acidity and delicate aromas, which can be ascribed to the northerly location of most of the appellations. Mainly white wines are produced in the region. The main white varieties are Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc (Pineau de la Loire), producing anything from dry to sweet botrytised wines. The sparkling wines are particularly renowned, the Saumur region ist he second most important centre of sparkling wine production in France after Champagne. The most important red varieties are Cabernet Franc (Breton), Gamay, Malbec (Côt) and Grolleau. These are used to make rosé wines, vins gris and fruity red wines. Most of which are destined for early consumption.

For ease of discussion, the large Loire wine-growing region is usually divided into four sections, from west to east. On the Atlantic coast in the west, and on the lower Loire, around the city of Nantes, lies the large Pays Nantais district, here white wines are produced from Muscadet grapes according to the methode sur lie. The second section is the Anjou-Saumur district, which has numerous enclaves. The third section is dominated by the Touraine district, which also has many enclaves. The fourth section lies in the historical province and former duchy of Berry in Central France, this is clearly separated from the other three districts, and has the most southerly location. The large Rhône wine-growing region lies to the east. There are around 70 areas designated as appellations or VDQS areas, as well as several areas for country wines (vin de pays). The most important of these are:

* Anjou (A. Coteaux de la Loire, Cabernet d´Anjou, A-Villages, A-Villages-Brissac)
* Bonnezeaux
* Bourgueil (Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil)
* Châteaumeillant
* Cheverny (Cour-Cheverny)
* Chinon
* Coteaux d´Ancenis
* Coteaux de l´Aubance
* Coteaux du Giennois (Coteaux du Giennois Cosne-Sur-Loire)
* Coteaux du Layon (Coteaux du Layon-Chaume, Coteaux du Layon-Villages)
* Coteaux du Loir
* Côte Roannaise
* Côtes d´Auvergne
* Côtes du Forez
* Crémant de Loire
* Fiefs Vendéens
* Gros Plant du Pays Nantais
* Haut-Poitou
* Jasnières
* Menetou-Salon
* Montlouis-sur-Loire
* Muscadet (M. Côtes de Grand Lieu, M. Coteaux de la Loire, M. de Sèvre-et-Maine)
* Orléanais
* Orléans
* Orléans-Cléry
* Pouilly-Fumé
* Pouilly-sur-Loire
* Quarts de Chaume
* Quincy
* Reuilly
* Rosé de Loire
* Saint-Pourçain
* Sancerre
* Saumur (Cabernet de Saumur, Coteaux de Saumur, Saumur-Champigny)
* Savennières (Savennières Coulée-de-Serrant, Savennières Roche-aux-Moines)
* Touraine (T. Amboise, Touraine-Azay-le-Rideau, Touraine-Mesland, T. Noble-Joué)
* Valençay
* Vouvray