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.
red wines from the region of Loire Valley go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, pork or game (deer, venison) such as recipes of authentic bolognese sauce (ragù di carne), beef stew or rabbit and mushroom gibelotte.
On the nose in the region of Loire Valley often reveals types of flavors of cherry, minerality or citrus fruit and sometimes also flavors of raisin, dried fruit or apples. In the mouth in the region of Loire Valley is a with a nice freshness.
Penfolds has announced it is to launch its second rare wine NFT with direct-to-consumer wines and spirits NFT platform BlockBar. The second rare release will comprise limited edition NFTs tied to 300 bottles of Penfolds Magill Cellar 3 Cabernet Shiraz from the 2018 vintage. Crafted under the watchful eye of chief winemaker Peter Gago, recipient of the Decanter Hall of Fame award last year, the wines will not be available from retail, nor Penfolds Cellar Doors. The release coincides with BlockBar ...
Oregon has got a 23rd AVA after ‘Mount Pisgah, Polk County, Oregon’ was created this month following approval from the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Lying around 15 miles west of Salem, the new appellation zone sits within the broader Willamette Valley AVA. Its lengthy official name was created to prevent confusion with another Mount Pisgah, in Lane County. Morgen McLaughlin, executive director of the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, said it was an exciting development: ‘Th ...
Julien and Nadia d’Abrigeon stood before me like new parents: proud, exhausted, thrilled. Tasting with them in their rented cellar space, I shared their excitement for their new arrivals. It’s not often you get to taste the first vintage of a new domaine, especially not one so promising. We’d just returned from visiting their vineyards in the village of Buisson. Not so long ago, this was an undesirable location. Cairanne and Rasteau inhabit the sun-warmed southern face of the Ventabren massif, w ...
