Wine Region - Loire Valley

Loire Valley – France

             The Loire Valley is located along the middle stretch of the Loire River in Central France. The area consists of 310 square miles and is known as the Garden of France because of the abundance of vegetation along the banks of the river. The valley is known for historic towns, architecture, wine, and culture; it has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic Era. The Loire Valley is divided into several sub-regions; Anjou-Saumur, Muscadet, Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, and Touraine. The climate in the region is moderate most of the year, slight frosts may occur during the spring and during wine harvesting months heavy rain can be prevalent. The valley is known as the Northern limit of Viticulture. The Loire Valley has been known for viticulture since the Roman era however since then many of the styles of wine and grapes grown in the region have changed.

               The Sancerre and Pouilly Fume sub regions are known primarily for Sauvignon blanc and Pinot noir grapes. However, wines labeled with Pouilly are made with Chasselas grapes, known for dry fruity white wines. The Sancerre is different than most regions in France because the picking of grapes is highly mechanized. Sancerre is known to produce red, white and rose wines; whereas, Pouilly Fume is known only to produce white wine. The white sauvignon blanc based wines from this region are known gooseberry, grapefruit, and very full bodied flavors. The red pinot noir wines from these two sub regions are known to be both light in body and color.

              The Anjou-Saumer sub region is located in the middle of the Loire Valley along the town of Angers. The Anjou sub region is primarily known for using Cabernet franc grapes in order to make rose based wines. White wine from this region is made using Chenin blanc and is known as Anjou blanc while Anjou rouge is made from Gamay grapes.  Higher quality wines coming from this area are labeled with the AOC designation Anjou-Villages. The Saumer area is the third largest producer of sparkling wine in France. Saumer sparkling wine is different than any other sparkling wine because it is made using the Chenin blanc grape. Some of the areas surrounding Saumer produce red wines based on the Cabernet franc grape.

            The Touraine sub region is known to have some of the most diverse plantings in the Loire Valley. For white wines the primary grape used is Chenin blanc, but Sauvignon blanc and Chardonnay are also planted. Cabernet franc is the main grape planted for red wines, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, and Malbec sometimes used. Rose wines are made using a combination of Gamay, Pineau d’aunis, Pinot gris, and Pinot noir. The soil around Touraine is a mixture of limestone with excellent drainage.

           The last and westernmost most edge of the Loire Valley is the Muscadet sub region. This sub region is unique because it uses Melon de Bourgogne grape to produced brandy distilled wine. Four types of white wine produces in the sub region are; Sevre et Maine, Cotes de Grand Lieu, Coteaux de la Loire, and Loire-Atlantique. These wines are often bottled sur lie, or straight from the tank that they were fermented in without and extra racking or filtering.