Loire Valley
France's longest river, and its most varied white-wine country.
The Loire is France's longest river, and its vineyards follow much of its course, changing grape and style every hour or two of driving. At the Atlantic mouth, Muscadet makes bone-dry, saline whites from Melon de Bourgogne. In Anjou and Touraine, Chenin Blanc shows its full range — dry, off-dry, lusciously sweet and sparkling — alongside the Loire's best reds: lean, fragrant Cabernet Franc from Chinon and Bourgueil. Far upstream, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé set the classic, flinty template for Sauvignon Blanc. The common thread is a cool climate and high acidity.
Grapes grown here 4
What the region makes
Aged on its lees for extra texture — the textbook oyster wine.
Chenin Blanc from dry to sweet to sparkling, all under one name.
Crisp, flinty Sauvignon Blanc — the benchmark for the grape.
Cabernet Franc with red fruit, graphite and a leafy freshness.
Traditional-method sparkling, much of it from Chenin Blanc.
Worth knowing
Tuffeau limestone quarried to build the Loire's châteaux left behind cellars cut into the rock, many still used to age wine.
Pouilly-Fumé and Pouilly-Fuissé are unrelated: the first is Loire Sauvignon Blanc, the second Burgundian Chardonnay.
Try this region if you like crisp, mineral whites and light, fresh reds.
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