Haute Loire is an unofficial name for the wine-producing communes of the Loire Valley located upstream (South and east) from Touraine. It includes two of the Loire's most famous appellations - Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume - along with a number of lesser known appellations such as Orléans, Valencay, Quincy and Côtes du Forez. The concept of a "Haute Loire" sub-region is necessary because the appellations that make it up are not grouped by an administrative or historical region; their main commonality is their proximity to the Loire River. Most other French wine regions correspond closely to an administrative region or department (e.
g. Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne, Provence). There is indeed a department of the Loire, but it is hundreds of miles upstream from the heart of the Loire Vineyard. Ironically, it is home to two of the least known appellations in the Loire Valley: Côte Roannaise and Côtes du Forez.
Like nowhere else on the Loire, these two regions specialize in red and rosé wines made from Gamay. Their style of wine and their sandy, granitic soils mean that they have more in common with Beaujolais (just 50 km to the east) than with any other Loire appellation.
Pinot Gris is a grey grape variety mutated from Pinot Noir. It has its origins in Burgundy, where it is called pinot-beurot in reference to the colour of the grey robes worn by the monks of the region. Established in Alsace since the 17th century, pinot gris was called tokay until 2007. It is made up of bunches of small berries that vary in colour from pink to blue-grey. It is particularly well suited to the continental climate because it is resistant to the cold in winter and to spring frosts. This variety also likes dry limestone soils with plenty of sunshine in the summer. Pinot Gris is well suited to late harvesting or to the selection of noble grapes, depending on the year and the concentration of sugars in the berries. Pinot Gris wines are distinguished by their aromatic complexity of white fruits, mushrooms, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, etc., and their great finesse. In the Loire Valley, pinot gris is used in the Coteaux-d'Ancenis appellations. It gives dry or sweet wines with pear and peach aromas.
pink wines from the region of Haute Loire go well with generally quite well with dishes of veal, pork or game (deer, venison) such as recipes of beef bourguignon with cookéo, rabbit with hunter's sauce or magret with pepper.
On the nose in the region of Haute Loire often reveals types of flavors of red fruit.
Ireland’s government has recently notified the World Trade Organisation (WTO) of its plans for mandatory health warning labels on wine bottles and other alcoholic drinks. If implemented, written warnings would include stating there is a direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers, as well as a message about the dangers of drinking alcohol when pregnant. They form part of section 2012 of Ireland’s 2018 Public Health Act. Proponents argue health warning labels will help to reduce alcohol-r ...
A little background first. The unstitching of France’s colonial empire in North Africa between 1956 and 1962 intensified political tensions on Corsica as well as giving rise to an ill-starred attempt by recently arrived French-Algerian wine farmers to turn Corsica’s eastern plains into a gigantic factory vineyard. Between 1960 and 2000, production rose four-fold – then collapsed. Away from the plains in the higher-quality appellation zones, meanwhile, an undiscerning tourist market combined with ...
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