The Loire Valley is a key wine region in western France. It follows the course of the Loire River on its Long journey through the heart of France, from the inland hills of the Auvergne to the plains of the French Atlantic coast near Nantes (Muscadet country). Important in terms of quantity and quality, the region produces large quantities (about 4 million h/l each year) of everyday wines, as well as some of France's greatest wines. Diversity is another of the region's major assets; the styles of wine produced here range from the light, tangy Muscadet to the Sweet, honeyed Bonnezeaux, the Sparkling whites of Vouvray and the juicy, Tannic reds of Chinon and Saumur.
It's quite telling that this brief overview of the region's wines doesn't even mention the Loire Valley's two most famous wines - Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume. White wines are clearly the strong point of the Loire Valley and represent the vast majority of production. A significant proportion of these are produced under PGI appellations, most commonly the IGP Loire (formerly Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France), which covers the whole region. The main white Grape varieties used for the production of white wines in the Loire Valley are Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Melon de Bourgogne and, more popular than the traditional, Chardonnay.
Ribs have travelled a long way! In the Middle Ages it was indeed cultivated in the Yonne region. In Bordeaux, it was used in the production of vins clairets and was present in the Loire Valley where today it is only used in the AOC Touraine and Rosé d'Anjou. It goes by different names: Malbec in Bordeaux or Auxerrois in Cahors, in the Quercy vineyards, where it flourishes.it is a very old red grape variety with medium-sized bunches and berries with melting, juicy and sweet flesh. Very sensitive to frost, disease and temperature changes, it is very productive if preserved and if it reaches a good maturity.côt is used in the vineyards of several major appellations such as the AOC Médoc, Graves, Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Bergerac, Pécharmant, Buzet, Malepère, Marcillac... Wines made from this grape variety are fruity, tannic, deep in colour and have good ageing potential Cultivated on a surface of 5.000 hectares in France, the côt is also very present in Argentina and Chile.
red wines from the region of Loire Valley go well with generally quite well with dishes of veal, game (deer, venison) or poultry such as recipes of veal tagine with prunes, rabbit with onions and mustard or stuffed potatoes.
On the nose in the region of Loire Valley often reveals types of flavors of cherry, nectarine or morello cherry and sometimes also flavors of lychee, passion fruit or lemon zest. In the mouth in the region of Loire Valley is a with a nice freshness.
The world of fine wine was saddened this weekend at the news of the passing of the widely loved wine authority Clive Coates MW. Few, if any, Masters of Wine exhibited the spontaneous generosity and amiable disposition that Clive Coates displayed throughout his long and illustrious career. His generosity with his time was remarkable given the breadth of his activities. Personally, I will always be grateful for his encouragement while I was preparing for the MW exam and again when publishing my fi ...
Moneypenny, James Bond, Q. Not a bad trio for your wine to share the screen with in its latest cameo. I’ll try not to give too many spoilers if you haven’t yet seen No Time To Die, but I don’t think it gives too much away to say that Bond can’t resist swiping two generous glasses of Château Angélus (2005, although you don’t see the vintage on screen) for himself and Moneypenny from a bottle that Q had carefully opened for his date later that night. This is the third Bond film in which Angélus ha ...
AXA Millésimes has expanded its footprint in California by purchasing Platt Vineyard on the western reaches of Sonoma Coast for an undisclosed sum. The French insurance giant’s wine division made its first foray into the Golden State when it bought Napa Valley winery Outpost back in 2018. Managing director Christian Seely has been on the hunt for a vineyard of similar quality to produce Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ever since. AXA Millésimes jumped at the opportunity to snap up the 111-hectare Plat ...
