The Loire’s blend of old and new, quaint and sophisticated – and its superb visitor experience – keeps it at the top of the list of France’s most-loved wine regions
A land of fairytale castles, historic monuments and picture-postcard villages, the Loire Valley is a huge draw for visitors from both France and abroad. It is also home to over 42,000 hectares of vineyards: wine has been intertwined with the history of the area for more than 2,000 years.
With a huge stretch of the river designated a World Heritage Site for its ‘outstanding cultural landscape of great beauty’, it’s no wonder that the Loire attracts almost two million visitors a year. Arriving in a sleepy village like Montsoreau, where rose-covered houses are overlooked by a castle built into the riverbed and locals play the traditional maritime game of boule de fort, it’s hard to imagine that Paris is only an hour away by train.
If parts of the region seem quaintly stuck in the past, tourism here is certainly evolving. At 900-year-old Fontevraud Royal Abbey, the resting place of Eleanor of Aquitaine, the past has been integrated into the present: the abbey complex now includes a modern art museum, a 4-star hotel and a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Local food and wine is a big part of the Loire’s appeal. Over 1,000 wine estates in the region offer direct sales, and there are 350 ‘Caves Touristiques’ - wine cellars certified for providing top quality hospitality for tourists.
Thousands of kilometres of cycle paths cross the region to get you to those wineries, including the Loire à Vélo trail along the river, a way to immerse yourself in what’s known as the ‘Loire slow life’. Those looking for the not-quite-so-slow can hire electric scooters from any number of different hire companies.
Vines have been grown in the Loire Valley since Roman times – they’re the reason the region has been dubbed the ‘Garden of France’. The river and its tributaries create a huge number of microclimates. The oceanic influence in the western part of the valley around Nantes lessens slightly as the Loire meanders east. Old riverbeds leave a legacy of soils, and numerous grape varieties mean wine styles span the full range of sparkling, white, rosé and red at different sweetness levels.
For centuries the river itself, the wide, slow Loire, has been a conveyer of wine and other goods. Nowadays a range of boat tour options includes wine tastings in collaboration with Vins de Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgeuil and Maritime de Loire, where a leisurely trip in a traditional boat is punctuated with stories of the river and its merchants, and tastings of reds from the village, ranging from lighter, red-fruited styles to darker, concentrated Cabernet Francs.
The diversity of wine styles is one of the selling points of the Loire, but it is the sparkling wines which are perhaps the most important from an international point of view. After Champagne, the Loire is the largest sparkling wine region in France. Although sparkling wines here are only 16% of production, they make up more than 30% of exports.
The central Loire regions of Anjou-Saumur and Touraine (around the cities of Saumur and Tours respectively) are the hubs for sparkling wine. The river-moderated temperate climate keeps freshness in the wines. Tuffeau chalk soils are not only good for growing high quality grapes but also for excavating large cellars for storing and maturing wines.
Houses can be seen hewn out of rocky hillsides, there are ancient troglodyte villages to visit, and the magnificent Caves Painctes (painted caves) is home to the Rabelais Brotherhood of Winemakers in Chinon. Forward-thinking sparkling producers like Louis de Grenelle are capitalising on their huge wine cellars. Twelve metres underground, in a maze of caves so extensive that the tunnels are named like roads, they have built an escape room game to entice visitors for tastings.
With sales of more than 25 million bottles in 2023, Crémant de Loire is by far the most common sparkling wine from the region, and more than half is exported. Mousseux (sparkling) and Fines Bulles (fine bubbles) designations are also used in subregions including Anjou, Vouvray and Saumur. All of these appellations make sparkling in the traditional method, and many use the region’s most-grown white variety, Chenin Blanc, a versatile grape with floral notes and high acidity which lends itself well to both dry and sweet styles.
The Loire’s most-planted variety, Cabernet Franc, is used for rosé sparklings, and while white Crémant is likely to be made with Chenin, it is equally likely to be a blend including Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Grolleau (Gris or Noir) or others. Styles vary from the minimum nine months lees-aged to much longer-aged, richer styles, and are often incredible value for money.
Loire sparkling wines have perhaps been given increased credibility after interest from Champagne houses keen to exploit the potential in the region, investing over the years in producers such as Langlois-Chateau (Bollinger) and Gratien & Meyer (Alfred Gratien).
There are a number of wine regions which, intentionally or not, maintain a mystique and seem closed to consumers. The Loire is not one of them. An open and welcoming region in terms of access to wineries, the sheer number of small estates and tourism options makes it perfect for exploring. When you do, be sure to try as many of its different wine styles as you can, and don’t forget about the bubbles.
To learn more about the Loire, check out Wines of the Loire Valley, the newest book by Beverley Blanning MW.
Ellie Scott is an independent wine consultant and communicator. Ellie founded her consultancy, Amante Wine, in 2021, after leaving a long-term career in finance to pursue her passions for wine and travel.
