A bit of history

It was certainly from the time of Saint Martin, around 380, onwards that vines were present in the Loire Valley. In fact, he had vines planted on the hillsides of Vouvray at the same time as he was having the Marmoutier monastery built next to Tours.

In 582, the bishop Gregory of Tours wrote about the existence of the Sancerre vineyard. But it was around the 12th century that the vineyards of the central region really developed, mostly thanks to the various monasteries of the region. The Augustinian monks of Sancerre, the Benedictines of Ménetou-Salon and Quincy thus furthered vine cultivation. From the 12th to the 15th century, the wines could be found on the tables of numerous royal courts.

At the end of the 11th century the abbot Baudry, who was also the prior of the Bourgeuil abbey, invited his friends to drink the wine produced from his vineyard every year. "If there is any good wine in reserve," he said, "I will give it to you, for this wine gladdens sad hearts.".

The reputation of Anjou wines spread from the end of the 12th century on once Henry II took the throne in England. In the 15th century, King René, Duke of Anjou, wrote: "of all the wines in my storeroom, Anjou, Lorraine and Provence, the best is the former". The canalization of the tributaries of the Loire river, under the impetus of Dutch trade, contributed greatly to the development of the vineyard during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Between the mildness of Anjou and the ocean's coolness, on the brown and ochre soils with delicate contrasts, stretches the vineyard of Nantes. Vines were introduced to the region under Roman Gaul. It was Cesar and his legions who brought it to Brittany. Its cultivation was the privilege of castles and abbeys until the Middle Ages. It was around 1709, after a particularly harsh winter when the sea, so the story goes, froze along the coast and after the almost total destruction of the vineyards that the monks brought the Melon vine back from Burgundy from which the best-known wine from Nantes is produced: the Muscadet.

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The area around Nantes

The vineyards are situated on the right bank of the Loire river and stretch out far into the Atlantic Loire, Vendée and Maine et Loire regions. There are three Muscadet regions: Muscadet, Muscadet from the Loire hillsides and Muscadet from the Sèvre et Maine region. Then there are the gros plant and the wines from the Ancenis hillside and those from the Vendée fiefs.

The bottling on sediment is a traditional technique of Nantes wines. It consists of leaving the wines to rest on their sediments for four or five months after their fermentation until they are bottled.

During this period a unique phenomenon develop:, the yeasts autolysise, which allows the wines to acquire unusual organaleptic properties which improves their quality.

All the gros plant as well as the muscadets from regional appellations (such as Sèvre et Maine, Coteaux de Loire and Côte de Granlieu) can be produced in this way. In fact, the majority of Muscadet and Gros Plan is now bottled on sediment.

In order to be given the name "sur lie" ("on sediment"), the wines must have spent one winter in a vat or barrel and must remain on their wine-making sediment until the moment they are bottled.

The wine from the Ancenis hillsides made from malvoisie vines is a curiosity waiting to be discovered. With regards to the Vendée fiefs, their former name - "Fiefs du Cardinal" - evokes the time when these wines were particularly appreciated by Cardinal Richelieu.

The appellations: Coteaux d'Ancenis, Fiefs vendéens, Gros-Plan and Muscadet.

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Anjou and Saumurois

The vineyards of Anjou have always been cultivated. After a period of vineyard expansion in the 19th century, the phylloxera wiped out them out completely. At the beginning of the 20th century the vines began to be replanted and they are now stable once again. To the west of Angers and the east of Saumur, the hillsides which border the Loire river and its tributaries produce quality wines. One can find red, white and rosé wines, light and solid wines, dry and sweet wines, sparkling or still…
This wine-producing region has a number of small vineyards that have the right to carry the label guaranteeing the origin of their wines.

The appellations: Anjou, Anjou-Gamay, Anjou-villages, Anjou-Coteaux de la Loire, Bonnezeaux, Cabernet d'Anjou, Cabernet de Saumur, Coteaux de l'Aubance, Coteaux de Layon, Coteaux de Saumur, Quart de Chaume, Rosé d'Anjou, Saumur, Saumur-Champigny and Savennières.

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Touraine

Vines were around in Touraine before the Roman occupation, as the Celtic name of a little village near Blois, Vineuil, testifies. In Touraine, as all over France, ecclesiastics were at the origin of organised wine-growing.

The appellations: Bourgueil, Cheverny, Chinon, Coteaux du Loir, Coteaux du Vendômois, Cour-Cheverny, Jasnières, Montlouis, Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil, Touraine, Touraine Amboise, Touraine Azay-le-Rideau, Touraine Mesland, Valençais and Vouvray.

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Berry

Since the medieval era when Jacques Cœur owned the vineyards, Berry has remained the traditional wine-growing region.

The appellations: Châteaumeillant, Menetou-Salon, Pouilly, Quincy, Reuilly and Sancerre

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The area around Orléans

Amongst French wines, those from the area around Orléans had their hour of glory during the Middles Ages and, since the 10th century, the vines have worked to produce original wines.
The rosé wine from the Orléans area produced from the gris-meunier vine is perfect with Sologne game birds.

The appellations: Coteaux du Giennois and l'Orléanais.

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The white grape vines

The Burgundy melon: vine used to make Muscadet only. It helped to make this appellation the most popular wine of France. The rock crystals of south-east Nantes give it more subtlety than the sedimentary rock areas.


Chenin: also called Pineau de la Loire. This late-harvesting vine adapts itself perfectly to the different
microclimates of Anjou and Touraine where it produces a surprising range of wines. It helps elaborate dry wines or basic wines used to make sparkling wine.

Sauvignon : used in the vineyards of the central region of France and the eastern part of Touraine. This fragile vine is very sensitive to the soil and the climate. Its slight aromatic differences are strongly influenced by the area in which it is grown.

Folle blanche : rustic vine which produces Gros-Plant from the Nantes area.

Chardonnay :this vine that originate form Burgundy has long been known in the Loire region under the name of "auvernat". Cultivated on poor soils, it is best when associated with other white grapes from the Loire Valley in order to elaborate Crémant or dry Saumur.

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The red grape vines

Cabernet franc : : often known as "Breton" because long ago it came from the Nantes region. Generally converted into wine on its own, it is used to produce the appellations Chinon, Bourgueil, Saint Nicolas de Bourgeuil, Saumur, Saumur-Champigny, Anjou andt Anjou-Villages.

Gamay : originally from the central eastern part of France, it is particularly widespread in Touraine. In the central region, it is one of the vines that makes up the vineyards of the hillsides of Giennois and Châteaumeillant.

Pinot noir : originally from Burgundy. It is the red grape vine that dominates the central region. It is used in the elaboration of red Sancerre.

Cabernet sauvignon :typical vine of Médoc or Graves. It grows best in poor but well-drained soils. Although it is not all that widespread in the Loire valley, one can find it used to complement the cabernet franc to which it brings tannic structure and colour.

Grolleau or groslot : originally from Touraine, it produces easy to drink, fruity rosés. After the cabernet franc, it is the most produced vine in the Loire valley.

Pineau d'Aunis or chemin noir :cultivated for its large yields, this vine has been progressively replaced by the cabernet franc.

Côt or malbec :this vine has found its preferred spot in the Cher valley. It is often used together with cabernet franc and/or gamay.

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To find out more:
All the wines of the Loire Valley
Wine growing in the Loire Valley