Sancerre in the Upper Loire is famous for its refreshing and white wine from Sauvignon blanc. This wine goes wonderfully with another local speciality, the goat cheese. Read more about it on the wine travel
To have fine, healthy grapes when it is time to pick means everything, or at least a lot, to the quality of the wine. And that means that you must ensure that both the vines
Britt’s Wine of the Month: Domaine Pierre Chauvin 2008, Cuvée La Fontaine des Bois, AOP Anjou, Loire Valley In the heart of sweet wine appellation Coteaux du Layon in the region of Anjou (Loire), we
The Maison des Vins de Sancerre has just created what is, as far as I know, the world’s first simulator for rognage, canopy management. As opposed to flight simulators, it is not, as I initially
Try rognage: Sancerre launches the world’s first simulation machine for canopy management! It is called rognage, when you trim or prune the canopy (the leaves) off the vines in summer to remove excess leaves. It
Two new appellations in the Loire Valley are born on May 1. They are located in Touraine, the large region in the beautiful part of the Loire where most of the big, famous Loire chateaux
Ô Tono is a very small and very simple café style restaurant some 8 minutes walk away from the central railway station in Angers. You will get simple decent food and a reasonable selection of
If you are seriously interested in Loire wines you should go to the Salon des Vins de Loire wine show. It helps if you are in the trade, since it is a professional event. Perhaps
The upper Loire, from a vinous point of view, comprises the two well-known appellations Sancerre and Puilly-sur-Fumé, but also the less famous Menetou Salon, Quincy, Reuilly, Coteaux du Giennois and Chateaumeillant. We have just received
The 2011 vintage in the Loire Valley seems promising. When we were there in early October the winemakers we met sounded very optimistic. However, it has been a year with extreme, or perhaps more accurately,
Muscadet will get three new village denominations. It is not, as far as we understand, a question of village “appellations” (AOP as it is called nowadays) but the right to put the name of the
What would you say if someone offered you a red muscadet? No doubt you would not believe it. Muscadet is made at the mouth of the Loire river from the grape variety called muscadet (or
The French sometimes put too much stock in the magic of words and in the value of appellations, as this story, just one of several about AOC and name wrangling, shows: In 2003 a new
A charming little restaurant in the heart of Tours in the Loire valley, located between the Cathedral and the Vieux Tours. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays. In short: very high ambitions and moderate prices! It’s an
The Domaine Pascal Jolivet winery is just on the edge of the Sancerre village, at the bottom of the hill. He wines are full of character and quite full-bodied compared to many sancerres. They prove
A bit upstream from Angers/Savennières you find Vouvray, using the same fabulous grape variety (chenin blanc) but on different soil. Here too you can find some outstanding white wines, both crisp and dry and very
Savennières is a small and little known region not far from Anger in the Loire valley. The main grape variety is chenin blanc (one of the world’s most underrated grape variety) and it is used
The big Loire wine fair will take place, as always, the first week of February: on February 2-4 in Angers. An outstanding opportunity if you are looking for Loire wines. (Trade show.) www.salondesvinsdeloire.com
There are many, often small, French appellations that are unfortunately far too little known. Sometimes one wonders if the wines wouldn’t be better known (which is important) and easier to sell (even more important) if
Didier Dagueneau was a winemaker in Pouilly-sur-Loire (Pouilly-Fumé wines) who has contributed much to putting Pouilly more clearly on the map for wine lovers. He started making in 1982 and became famous for his very
Jo Pithon, one of the producers who have put Anjou on the map for excellent dry and sweet whites from the heavily underrated chenin blanc grape, has left the vineyard carrying his name. A few
– Chateau de Tracy has just launched a new cuvée called “Haute Densité”, or simply HD. 2004 is the first vintage of the peculiar wine from one of the best estates in Pouilly-Fumé. The wine
Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur Champigny 56, boulevard Saint-Vencent, 49400 Varrains, tel 02 41 52 94 02 Red Loire wine is often made from Cabernet Franc, an aromatic and appealing grape variety. But it is
The brothers Vincent and Victor Lebreton in Juigné-sur-Loire makes some incredibly good-value wines, both red, dry white and sweet white. My favorite red is Anjou Village Brissac 1998, with one year’s oak aging – very
One of the most famous producers of Vouvray (Loire) wines, Domaine Huet, was, according to our information, recently sold to a consortium of an American investor and one of Hungary’s leading wine makers, Istvan Szepsy.
One of the ”new wave” of biodynamic producers. Makes several different cuvees of excellent wines, e.g. two full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc wines with lots of citrus freshness: ‘Agathe’ (12.60€) and ‘Plume d’Ange’ (13.80€), available at Lafayette
Sancerre in the Upper Loire is famous for its refreshing and white wine from Sauvignon blanc. This wine goes wonderfully with another local speciality, the
To have fine, healthy grapes when it is time to pick means everything, or at least a lot, to the quality of the wine. And
Britt’s Wine of the Month: Domaine Pierre Chauvin 2008, Cuvée La Fontaine des Bois, AOP Anjou, Loire Valley In the heart of sweet wine appellation
The Maison des Vins de Sancerre has just created what is, as far as I know, the world’s first simulator for rognage, canopy management. As
Try rognage: Sancerre launches the world’s first simulation machine for canopy management! It is called rognage, when you trim or prune the canopy (the leaves)
Two new appellations in the Loire Valley are born on May 1. They are located in Touraine, the large region in the beautiful part of
Ô Tono is a very small and very simple café style restaurant some 8 minutes walk away from the central railway station in Angers. You
If you are seriously interested in Loire wines you should go to the Salon des Vins de Loire wine show. It helps if you are
The upper Loire, from a vinous point of view, comprises the two well-known appellations Sancerre and Puilly-sur-Fumé, but also the less famous Menetou Salon, Quincy,
The 2011 vintage in the Loire Valley seems promising. When we were there in early October the winemakers we met sounded very optimistic. However, it
Muscadet will get three new village denominations. It is not, as far as we understand, a question of village “appellations” (AOP as it is called
What would you say if someone offered you a red muscadet? No doubt you would not believe it. Muscadet is made at the mouth of
The French sometimes put too much stock in the magic of words and in the value of appellations, as this story, just one of several
A charming little restaurant in the heart of Tours in the Loire valley, located between the Cathedral and the Vieux Tours. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays.
The Domaine Pascal Jolivet winery is just on the edge of the Sancerre village, at the bottom of the hill. He wines are full of
A bit upstream from Angers/Savennières you find Vouvray, using the same fabulous grape variety (chenin blanc) but on different soil. Here too you can find
Savennières is a small and little known region not far from Anger in the Loire valley. The main grape variety is chenin blanc (one of
The big Loire wine fair will take place, as always, the first week of February: on February 2-4 in Angers. An outstanding opportunity if you
There are many, often small, French appellations that are unfortunately far too little known. Sometimes one wonders if the wines wouldn’t be better known (which
Didier Dagueneau was a winemaker in Pouilly-sur-Loire (Pouilly-Fumé wines) who has contributed much to putting Pouilly more clearly on the map for wine lovers. He
Jo Pithon, one of the producers who have put Anjou on the map for excellent dry and sweet whites from the heavily underrated chenin blanc
– Chateau de Tracy has just launched a new cuvée called “Haute Densité”, or simply HD. 2004 is the first vintage of the peculiar wine
Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur Champigny 56, boulevard Saint-Vencent, 49400 Varrains, tel 02 41 52 94 02 Red Loire wine is often made from Cabernet
The brothers Vincent and Victor Lebreton in Juigné-sur-Loire makes some incredibly good-value wines, both red, dry white and sweet white. My favorite red is Anjou
One of the most famous producers of Vouvray (Loire) wines, Domaine Huet, was, according to our information, recently sold to a consortium of an American
One of the ”new wave” of biodynamic producers. Makes several different cuvees of excellent wines, e.g. two full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc wines with lots of citrus
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