Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the richness of its landscapes and heritage, the Loire Valley is also a major wine-growing region with 51 appellations d'origine contrôlée producing nearly 320 million bottles each year.
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the richness of its landscapes and heritage, the Loire Valley is also a major wine-growing region with 51 appellations d'origine contrôlée producing nearly 320 million bottles each year.
Cultivating a particular art of living, the Loire Valley has a vineyard of international renown. From Nantes to Sancerre, it follows the course of the river and stretches over more than 1,000 kilometres, covering almost 14 departments!
6,200 winegrowers, 250 wine merchants and 16 cooperative cellars work on the 57,200 hectares planted, making the Loire Valley the 3rd largest PDO vineyard in France. With such substantial figures, the wines of the Loire Valley are logically extremely different from one another. There are four main regions: Pays Nantais, Anjou-Saumur, Touraine and Centre-Loire.
All these wines are produced from a wide variety of terroirs and grape varieties, which makes the palette particularly interesting: reds, rosés, whites, sparkling, sweet, dry, mellow... the Loire Valley appellations come in all colours and types, so there is something for every taste!
The history of the Loire wines merges with that of France. For nearly 1,000 years, all the Kings have contributed to the development of the fame of the region's wines. The Capetian and Valois kings greatly encouraged the consumption of the beverages from this vineyard, then princely. The Loire Valley also stands out from other French regions by the quality of its heritage, its architecture and its châteaux, which bear witness to a strong interaction between man and his environment over nearly 2,000 years.
...and tourism
Troglodytic villages, small towns of character and emblematic monuments rub shoulders with vineyards in magnificent landscapes of hills and plains. Behind most of the great appellations lies a famous château in the region: Saumur, Chenonceau, Chinon, Chambord, etc.
Faced with this considerable tourist attraction, the winegrowers have decided to develop their own offer of discovery and today more than 1,000 wineries are open to visitors! Bicycle rides through the cellars, meetings with winegrowers, guided walks in the vineyards, night-time tastings, accommodation in the vineyards, traditional festivals...: numerous activities organised around wine are on the increase in the Loire Valley. The richness and variety of these events has enabled the Loire Valley vineyards to become the best vineyards in France in terms of the quality of their wine tourism welcome.
Notice to Sancerre wine lovers: discover the 10 places to visit around the vineyard.
Bérengère for Comme des Français
----
To continue the tasting:
- The different types of wines
- Alsace, another great wine region
- The brewing tradition of the Hauts-de-France
