The Centre-Loire sub-region is located in the Loire Valley region, southeast of the Paris Basin. Its surface area is difficult to determine and the vineyards are made up of plots that vary in Size and are isolated, but also of plots of several hundred hectares. On a limestone base, the Centre-Loire has at least four types of soil: the terres blanches, Deep brown calcareous soils, which give the wines firmness, vivacity and fullness; the caillotes, Hard limestone soils, which give the wines pleasure, tenderness in their youth and a characteristic fruitiness; the grillotes, of friable limestone from which the wines take notes of candied fruits and honey; and the chailloux, siliceous with fine and coarse elements (clays, silts and sands, gravels, and pebbles), giving the wines firmness, persistent aromas, a Spicy nuance and a note of gunflint The caillotes and grillottes are shallow, stony soils, which Warm up quickly in the spring and have good rainwater Runoff, resulting in early ripening of the grapes for the production of fine, Soft, fruity wines. The semi-continental climate with microclimatic variations is ideal for the Sauvignon grape variety which gives white wines a rare harmony and perfection, and also ideal for the Pinot Noir which produces little known but no less surprising red wines.
The Centre-Loire region has nine appellations but is particularly well known for its AOC Sancerre, Quincy, Reuilly and Menetou-Salon. These appellations include those from the Auvergne vineyards (Saint-Pourçain, Côte-Roannaise and Côtes-du-Forez).
Ugni blanc is a grape variety originating from Italy. It produces a variety of grape specially used for the elaboration of wine. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by large bunches and small to medium sized grapes. Ugni blanc can be found in many vineyards: South West, Cognac, Bordeaux, Provence & Corsica, Rhone valley, Languedoc & Roussillon, Armagnac, Loire valley, Savoie & Bugey, Beaujolais.
white wines from the region of Centre Loire go well with generally quite well with dishes of rich fish (salmon, tuna etc), shellfish or vegetarian such as recipes of penne with smoked salmon and crème fraiche, spanish seafood paella or quiche lorraine.
On the nose in the region of Centre Loire often reveals types of flavors of cream, lychee or mushroom and sometimes also flavors of beeswax, lemon grass or bell pepper. In the mouth in the region of Centre Loire is a with a nice freshness.
According to lifestyle and happiness guru Gretchen Rubin, you ‘bring your own weather to a picnic’. Ms Rubin, I’d suggest, has never shivered under a tree watching raindrops turn her fish-paste sandwich to mush because the weather forecast was wrong. There are, it’s safe to say, picnics and Picnics. It’s a term that takes in everything from a rubber baguette in a French ‘Aire’ off the Autoroute du Soleil to a four-course spread while listening to opera at Glyndebourne. What’s definitely true is ...
In what François Poher, director and chairman of the Board of Hospices Civils de Beaune, dubbed ‘historic and spectacular results’, the auction broke other records, including highest ever total for a charity wine auction and record total for any wine auction held by Sotheby’s, according to the auction house that managed the sale. The average price per barrel sold over Sunday’s seven-hour auction also reached a new high, at €35,974 topping last year’s record-setting average price per lot of €34,9 ...
The De Marchi family established the 56ha estate back in 1956, and it is now firmly established as one of the region’s leading producers. Isole e Olena played a key role in reviving the quality of Chianti in the 1970s, and its flagship wine – Cepparello, a barrique-aged Sangiovese from old vines – is regarded as one of the original Super Tuscans. A Piedmont lawyer called Francesco De Marchi founded the business, but his visionary son – Paulo De Marchi – has driven its rise to prominence. He is r ...
