Ch 4 Middle Loire - Touraine

372: Marmoutier Abbey established by Saint Martin in Tours; as Christianity expanded so did the vine

• Royal court in Touraine drank local wine
• Dutch wine trade
• Note: By the 17th century, Touraine was France's second-largest area under vine

19th century, after the advent of the railroad which led to more customers

• 13
• Note: Touraine Mousseux is a style within the Touraine AOC; InterLoire (https://www.vinsvaldeloire.fr/en) counts Haut-Poitou in Samur and 5 other AOCs in Touraine (Orléans, Orléans-Cléry, Coteaux du Vendômois, Coteaux du Loir, Jasnières)

• Cour-Cheverny: 100% (dry, moelleux, doux)
• Haut-Poitou: 65%
• Cheverny: 56% (still and sparkling)
• Valençay: 52%
• Touraine: 51%
• Vouvray: 40%
• Montlouis-sur-Loire: 32% (dry, semi-dry, moelleux)
• Chinon: 3%

• Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil: 98%
• Bourgueil: 96%
• Chinon: 85%
• Cheverny: 34%
• Valençay: 33%
• Haut-Poitou: 30%

• Rosé de Loire: 100%
• Touraine Noble-Joué: 100%
• Valençay: 15%
• Chinon: 12%
• Cheverny: 10%
• Touraine: 7%
• Haut-Poitou: 5%
• Bourgueil: 4%
• Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil: 2%

• Vouvray
• Montlouis-sur-Loire
• Cheverny
• Touraine Mousseux style
• Crémant de Loire

• Bourgueil ("Boor-gay"): 96% red, 4% dry rosé
• Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil: 98% red, 2% dry rosé
• Chinon: 85% red, 12% dry rosé, 3% white
• Haut-Poitou ("Oht pwa-toe": 65% white, 30% red, 5% dry rosé
• Vouvray: 100% white (60% mousseux/pétillant, 40% still)
• Montlouis-sur-Loire ("Mon-lu-ee"): 100% white (67% mousseux, 19% dry still, 10% semi-dry still, 3% moelleux, 1% pétillant)
• Cheverny ("Shev-air-nay"): 56% white (still and sparkling), 34% red, 10% rosé
• Cour-Cheverny: 100% white (dry, moelleux, doux)
• Valençay ("Val-en-say"): 52% white, 33% red, 15% rosé
• Touraine: 51% white, 29% red, 7% rosé, 13% mousseux (1/3 are rosé)
• Touraine Noble-Joué ("Nob-la Zhew-ay"): 100% dry rosé
• Rosé de Loire: 100% dry rosé
• Crémant de Loire: 100% sparkling (82% white, 18% rosé)

• Moelleux ("mol-a-yur"): mellow, usually medium sweet
• Liquoreux ("lico-ru"): syrupy sweet, markedly sweeter than moelleux, often botrytized

True: 44% (400 ha/988 acres) in Touraine, 56% (500 ha/1,235 acres) in Anjou

False: 300 ha/741 acres in Touraine produce only 20% of production, 80% is produced in Anjou

False: 7 AOCs do but Touraine Noble-Joué and Rosé de Loire only make rosé wine

• White (5): Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Menu Pineau, Romorantin ("Row-mo-rah-tah"), Sauvignon Blanc
• Grey (3): Grolleau Gris, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Gris
• Red (8): Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Côt, Gamay, Grolleau ("Grow-low"), Merlot, Pineau d'Aunis ("Pee-no duh-knee"), Pinot Noir

• AOC: 1937
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire
• Location: 8 villages, right bank of the Loire river, south-facing hills and on plains
• Size: vineyards: 1,400 ha/3,459 acres
• Yield: 55 hl/ha, 3.9 tons/acre
• Blend: min 90% Cabernet Franc, max 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
• RS: red: max 2 g/L, rosé: max 4 g/L
• Release: rosé/red: Dec 15
• 

True: Most producers age their wines in wood until they feel they are ready for release; Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil wines are released a few weeks later

In Bourgueil, villages closest to the Loire river lie on flatter land with sand and silica-clay gravels - 60% of the vineyards; they tend to have raspberry fruit appreciable in their youth

In Bourgueil, villages in the northern portion are known for slopes of Turonian chalk (tuffeau) - 40% of the vineyards; they are complex and structured yet silky, plummy fruit when young, gaining spicy and earthy aromas with age; can be aged up to 25 years

• AOC: 1937
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire
• Location: 1 village, right bank of the Loire river, south-facing hills and on plains
• Size: vineyards: 1,100 ha/2,718 acres
• Yield: 55 hl/ha, 3.9 tons/acre
• Blend: min 90% Cabernet Franc, max 10%
• RS: red max 2 g/L, rosé: max 4 g/L
• Release: rosé: Dec 15, red: Jan 1
• 

True

• ~990: after an abbey and 2 churches were established: Saint Germain and Saint Nicolas
• Note: the vines were not Cabernet Franc

Somewhere between the 12th and 16th centuries

True: They were separated after the French revolution; Bougueil included the land around the Saint-Germain church while Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil was named after the Saint Nicolas church

Much of the land was planted to other crops and the area has sandy, alluvial soils

True: but rare

Plains, hills, and terraces -- a transition from the plains of Anjou and the cliffs of Touraine; forests in the north and the Loire river to the south

Continental with oceanic influce; slightly warmer in Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil due to its more open terrain

Changeon

Grapevines have yellowing leaves when they are deficient in iron, magnesium or zinc because they cannot process chlorophyll; problematic in limestone soils

• This village, east of the Changeon river is known for chalky clay tuffeau, but glauconite (similar to mica) makes these soils distinctive
• Note: When glauconite decomposes it releases iron, magnesium, and potassium hydroxide

This village has most Bourgueil vineyards and has slightly more tuffeau wine than gravel wine

• Deep top-soils of sand and gravel and hills of Turonian chalk topped with Senonian sand
• Note: The older Turonian age was 89.8-93.9 mya, the younger Senonian Epoch was 66.0-89.8 mya
• 

In Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, locals refer to wines made from grapes grown on gravel as spring wines

True

• AOC: 1937
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire
• Location: 26 villages, both banks of the Vienne river, gentle hills and alluvial plains
• Size: total: 6,900 ha/17,050 acres, vineyards: 2,400 ha/5,931 acres
• Yield: 55 hl/ha, 3.9 tons/acre
• Blend: min 90% Cabernet Franc, max 10% Cabernet Sauvignon; white: 100% Chenin Blanc
• RS: red: 2 g/L, rosé: max 4 g/L, white: max 6 g/L
• Release: red: Jan 1, white/rosé: Dec 15
• 

True: easy to defend

Chinon

Cravant-les-Coteaux

Cold winds and humid clouds are blocked by the Chinon forest to the north and the Fontevraud forest to the west

The Puys (rounded hills, not of volcanic origin as it is in Auvergne), cultivation prohibited

An Auvergne (Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dome,Canteal, and Allier departments) term for a rounded volcanic hill.

• Alluvial terraces: aka Les Varennes, youngest soil which produces fruity, light wine
• Yellow Turonian tuffeau: aka Aubuis, slopes and hilltops, chalky clay soil produces full-bodied reds and Chenin Blanc
• Senonian flinty-clay mixed with sand: aka perruches, is dry and susceptible to erosion, produces wines with finesse

• Deux-Sèvres, Vienne, Charente, Charente-Maritime
• note: merged with Aquitaine and Limousin to form the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in 2016

• AOC: 2011, was VDQS 1970
• Départements: Vienne
• Location: 31 villages, both banks of the Clain river, north of the city of Poitiers
• Size: total: 700 ha/1,730 acres, vineyards: 130 ha/321 acres
• Yield: white: 67 hl/ha, 4.8 tons/acre, rosé: 60 hl/ha, 4.3 tons/acre, red: 58 hl/ha, 4.1 tons/acre
• Blend: white: min 60% Sauvignon Blanc, max 60% Sauvignon Gris; rosé: min 40% Cabernet Franc, min 20% Gamay, min 20% Pinot Noir; red: min 60% Cabernet Franc, max 10% (Merlot, Pinot Noir), any % Gamay
• RS: red: max 2.5 g/L, rosé/white: max 3 g/L
• Wine: white: pale yellow, citrus, broom (orange blossoms, grape, vanilla), red: deep ruby with aromas of red berries and spice, rosé: dark pink with aromas of strawberry, raspberry and pepper
• Release: Dec 15
• 

• South-facing on an elevated plateau
• Scattered amongst orchards and other crops

• Dark Ages (476-10th century): Franks fought Vikings, Arabs, and Aquitanians; recovered after Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152
• 16th century: The European wars of religion; recovered with the Dutch wine trade

18th century: 43,000 ha/106,255 acres were under vine -- 330 X the size today!

• Rebuilt vineyards
• Invested in a cooperative and agricultural extension group

True

True: many red wines are 100% Cabernet Franc

• Jurassic chalky clay
• Turonian fling-rich, sandy clay
• Sandy-soil

Continental: the hills around the village of Parthenay block any maritime influence

• AOC: 1936
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire
• Location: 8 villages, right bank of the Loire river, just east of Tours
• Size: total: 3,000 ha/7,413 acres, vineyards: 2,200 ha/5,436 acres
• Yield: still: 52 hl/ha, 3.7 tons/acre, mousseux/pétillant: 65 hl/ha, 4.6 tons/acre
• Blend: Chenin Blanc with up to 5% Arbois (aka Menu Pineau)
• RS: same as Montlouis-sur-Loire: sec: <8 g/L, demi-sec (medium-dry): 4-12 g/L or 12-18 g/L if higher acid, moelleux (semi-sweet): < 45 g/L, doux: >45 g/L
• Wine: sparkling: usually mousseux, pétillant must be labeled, straw yellow, diverse aromas; dry: similar to sparkling aromas but dominated by minerality when young evolving to smoky; off-dry: balanced sweetness and acidity, silky texture, great depth; sweet: golden yellow with amber hues, full-bodied, creamy, candied and cooked fruit with honey
• Aging/Release: sparkling: min 12 months on lees, still: release Feb 1; still and sweet wines are built for aging
• 

A wine with more strong acids taste dryer than the level of residual sugar might suggest

• Sec (dry): max 8 g/L; sec must appear on the label
• Demi-Sec (medium-dry): 4-12 g/L; wines with 12-18 g/L RS must have higher acid levels
• Moelleux (medium-sweet): min demi-sec, max 45 g/L
• Doux (sweet): min 45 g/L
• Note: EU regulation 753/2002 defines sec as
• max 4 g/L or 9 g/L if TA-RS <= 2 g/L

• Brut Nature: no dosage added, 0-3 g/L
• Extra Brut: 0-6 g/L
• Brut: 0-12 g/L
• Extra-Dry: 12-17 g/L
• Dry: 17-32 g/L
• Demi-Sec: 32-50 g/L
• Doux: >50 g/L

True: and sparkling outpaces still white wines

True: However, most sparkling producers use the Vouvray designation

• Chenin Blanc: Gros Pineau de la Loire
• Menu Pineau: Orbois

True: However, it must be hand-harvested if designated Crémant de Loire

True: A syndicate was created in 1906 to protect Vouvray's reputation

• Tours-Sainte-Radégone
• Rochecorbon
• Vouvray
• Vernou-sur-Brenne
• Reugny
• Chançay
• Noizay
• Note: Parçay-Meslay was added in 1936 when the AOC was made official
• 

• 160 winegrowers: all viable land has been planted
• 1 cooperative: created in 1953

• Located on an elevated plateau
• Caves carved out of tuffeau (used as cellars and houses) are covered by aubuis or perruches topsoils
• 

• Aubuis: chalky-clay found in vineyards closer to the river; wines are referred to as silky
• Perruches: flinty-clay; wines are complex and ageworthy
• 

Loire's maritime and continental climates meet in Vouvray; in late vintages more sparkling wines are made, in early vintages sweet wines dominate

False: Fermentation and aging generally takes place in stainless stell but many important producers use oak

False: MLF is not common

False: They both must be made in the traditional method and aged on lees for min 1 year but no production differences are regulated; however, pétillant wines must be identified as such

True

• AOC: 1938 (name changed in 2002)
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire
• Location: 3 villages (Lussault-sur-Loire, Saint-Martin-le-Beau, Montlouis sur Loire), between left bank of the Loire river (across from Vouvray) and right bank of the Cher river
• Size: total: 1,200 ha/2,965 acres, vineyards: 450 ha/1,111 acres
• Yield: still/pétillant naturel: 52 hl/ha, 3.7 tons/acre; mousseux/pétillant: 65 hl/ha, 4.6 tons/acre
• Blend: 100% Chenin Blanc, 67% mousseux, 19% dry still, 10% semi-dry still, 3% moelleux, 1% pétillant
• RS: same as Vouvray, sec: <8 g/L, demi-sec (medium-dry): 4-12 g/L or 12-18 g/L if higher acid, moelleux (semi-sweet): < 45 g/L, doux: >45 g/L
• Aging/Release: sparkling: min 9 months on lees, still: release Feb 1
• 

True

True: 200 ha/494 acres of vineyard land has been lost to the city of Tours but protections have been put in place to prevent further losses

• Unique to Montlouis-sur-Loire, essentially their pétillant naturels
• Hand-harvested, no additions of any kind
• Ancestral method: single paused/restarted fermentation
• Pressure: 2.4 atm, lightly fizzy
• Aging: min 9 months on lees
• RS: < 5 g/L (no dosage)

• Environmental certification that vineyard and winery decisions protect the environment for future generations
• Halfway between modern and organic winemaking
• Created in Beaujolais in 1998, national in 2001 (now 7 regional associations: Alsace, Beaujolais-Rhône Alpes, Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Bordeaux, Loire, Rhône Méditerranée, Vignoble Champenois)

True: 35% of AOC vineyards are certified organic and another 35% follow Terra Vitis

True

True: after the phylloxera epidemic local winemakers decided to create an identity of their own

True: however, after the phylloxera epidemic red grapes were not replanted

An association whose primary function is to promote local wines

• Confrérie des Chevaliers de la Chantepleure, created in 1937
• note: a chantepleure is a faucet put on a barrel to pour out the wine

• Confrérie de la coterie des Closiers de Montlouis, created in 1969
• note: a closier refers to an 18th century winegrower who cared for and lived within a walled vineyard owned by others in exchange for a house, vegetable garden, and small salary

• Vineyards close to the Loire river are planted on a plateau that gives way to gentle hills and valleys towards the Cher river. The orientation of the slopes are slightly less favorable than those of Vouvray.
• 

• Similar to Vouvray -- tuffeau covered by perruches (flinty-clay) or aubuis (chalky clay) -- but sandier and with Miocene gravel
• 

Oceanic influence but local condition vary greatly due to the slopes. Annual rainfall averages 26 inches/650 mm.

• AOC: 1993
• Départements: Loir-et-Cher
• Location: 24 villages, left bank of the Loire river
• Size: vineyards: 660 ha/1,631 acres
• Yield: red/rosé: 55 hl/ha, 3.9 tons/acre; white: 60 hl/ha, 4.3 tons/acre
• Blend: 56% still/sparkling white (Sauvignon Blanc/Gris-based), 34% red (Pinot Noir-based), 10% rosé (Pinot Noir-based)
• RS: white/rosé: max 4 g/L, red: max 2 g/L
• Wine: white: pale yellow, citrus, exotic white flowers and boxwood; red: light ruby medium-bodied with aromas of plum and berries evolving to darker meaty notes; rosé: fresh, spicy notes with berry aromas
• Release: Dec 15
• 

• Red: primary: Pinot Noir; secondary: Gamay, Cabernet Franc, Côt
• White/Gris: primary: Sauvignon Blanc; secondary: Sauvignon Gris, Chardonnay, Menu Pineau (aka Arbois), Chenin Blanc

True

• White: min 50% Sauvignon Blanc and/or Gris, min 16% (Chardonnay, Arbois, Chenin Blanc)
• Rosé/Red: min 85% (min 50% Pinot Noir, min 16% Gamay), max 15% (Cabernet Franc, Côt)

• Northeast: Sand and gravel
• South (near Sologne Forest): sand atop flinty-clay
• Southwest: combination of chalky-clay, flint, and Sologne sand-clay mix

Semi-continental, slightly drier and warmer than other areas of Touraine due to the Sologne Forest (which blocks rain) and rivers (which moderate temperatures)

True: 25% of AOC vineyards are farmed organically and another 32% received Terra Vitis certification

• AOC: 1993
• Départements: Loir-et-Cher
• Location: 11 villages, left bank of the Loire river
• Size: vineyards: 50 ha/123 acres
• Yield: dry: 60 hl/ha, 4.3 tons/acre; sweet: 50 hl/ha, 3.6 tons/acre
• Blend: 100% Romorantin (dry, moelleux, doux)
• RS: dry: max 8 g/L
• Wine: Pale-yellow with citrus, peach, floral notes (similar to Chardonnay) evolving to golden, complex aromas of jasmine, honey, and acacia
• Aging/Release: May 15 / June 1; sweet version have the longest aging potential
• 

• True: The variety took on the name of the village
• Unknown: Legend says Francis I ordered his favorite Burgundian grape planted in Cour-Cheverny in the 16th century but there is no evidence this is true

Unknown: if true, it may be France's oldest grapevines

• True: but only for wines made from Romorantin
• 

Silica-rich: thin, poor, difficult to cultivate; Romorantin thrives here while cereals do not

• AOC: 2004
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher
• Location: 14 villages, primarily left bank of the Cher river
• Size: total: 2,400 ha/5,931 acres, vineyards: 190 ha/470 acres
• Yield: white: 60 hl/ha, 4.3 tons/acre; red/rosé: 55 hl/ha, 3.9 tons/acre
• Blend: 52% white (Sauvignon Blanc with or without a secondary grape), 33% red (any blend of Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Côt, with Cabernet Franc optional), 15% rosé (any blend of Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Côt, with Cabernet Franc and Pinot d'Aunis optional)
• RS: white/rosé: max 4 g/L, red: max 2 g/L
• Wine: white: fresh with floral, citrus, flint; rosé: smooth with red berry fruit; red: ruby with fresh, ripe fruit
• Release: white/rosé: Dec 15, red: Feb 15
• Aging: red: Feb 1
• 

• White (4): primary: Sauvignon Blanc; secondary: Chardonnay, Arbois, Sauvignon Gris
• Red (5): primary: Gamay; secondary: Pinot Noir, Côt, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pineau d'Aunis

• Chalk with sandy-clay: North (Cher Valley)
• Turonian chalk with perruches: South
• Sandy gravels: Southeast

Semi-continental: 30 km/19 mi from the Centre Loire AOCs Quincy and Reuilly

• Vineyards are planted on gentle slopes facing the Cher river or one of its many tributaries
• Surrounded by forests which protect the vines from rain clouds and cool air

• Reuilly: AOC in the Centre Loire, pronounced reuh-YEE
• Rully: AOC in the Côte Chalonnaise (Bourgogne), pronounced ryoo-YEE

• French diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
• Built in the 16th century, he purchased the château in 1803
• He is buried there and a museum of his life is in the west wing

True: wine and cheese

• A semi-soft, mold-ripened goat cheese covered by a layer of ash, distinguishable by its chopped-off pyramid shape
• Note: legend says Napoleon removed the top of the pyramid to banish the memory of his defeat in Egypt
• 

True: Valençay is known for goat farming; shepards were a captive audience for the local wines

• AOC: 1939 (as Coteaux de Touraine)
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher
• Location: 143 villages, both banks of the Vienne, Indre, Cher, and Loire rivers, 100 km/62 mi from the town of Blois to the convergence of the Vienne and Loire rivers
• Size: total: 9,000 ha/22,239 acres; vineyards: 5,000 ha/12,355 acres
• Yield: red/rosé: 60 hl/ha, 4.3 tons/acre; white: 65 hl/ha, 4.6 tons/acre; sparkling: 72 hl/ha, 5.1 tons/acre
• Blend: 51% White, 29% Red, 7% Rosé, 13% Sparkling (1/3 rosé)
• RS: white/rosé: max 4 g/L, red: max 2 g/L
• Wine: white: Sauvignon Blanc dominates with lively, aromatic notes of broom and honeysuckle; rosé: fresh and fruity; red: Cabernet Franc dominates
• Release: primeur: third Thursday of November; still: Dec 15
• 

• Turonian tuffeau is the common subsoil but topsoils vary by location
• Valley bottoms: light gravels or sands
• Slopes: perruches (flinty clay) or aubuis (chalky clay)
• Sologne: sands atop clay
• Note: Sologne is the area between the Loire and Cher rivers

• White/Gris: primary: Sauvignon Blanc; secondary: Arbois, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Grolleau Gris, Sauvignon Gris
• Red: primary: Cabernet Franc, Côt, Gamay; secondary: Cabernet Sauvignon, Grolleau, Pineau d'Aunis, Pinot Noir

• White: min 80% Sauvignon Blanc (most are 100%), max 20% Sauvignon Gris
• Red: min 50% Côt, min 80% (Côt, Cabernet Franc); if west of Tours min 80% Cabernet Franc
• Rosé: no grape can be over 70% of the blend

True: though usually 100% Gamay

True: via carbonic maceration; a rosé primeur is also made but is rare

True: They are known for being immensely quaffable; oak aging is uncommon

False: it is a style within the Touraine AOC

• AOC: 1946
• Yield: sparkling: 72 hl/ha, 5.1 tons/acre
• Blend: traditional method; min 60% Chenin Blanc or Arbois, optional: Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Grolleau, Grolleau Gris, Pineau d'Aunis, Pinot Noir
• Wine: gentle mousse with notes of brioche, green apples, and honey, refreshing and well-balanced
• Aging: 9 months on lees

• Amboise: "Am-bwaz"
• Azay-le-Rideau: "Ah-zhay le Ree-dough"
• Chenonceaux: "Se-nan-sew"
• Mesland: "Me-yah"
• Oisly: "Well-yee"
• 

• Subzone (DGC): 1955; currently reducing boundaries and revising regulations
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire
• Location: 10 villages (Limeray has most vineyards, Amboise the least), both banks of the Loire river, between Tours and Blois, surrounding the castle of Amboise
• Size: total: 3,200 ha/7,907 acres; vineyards: 185 ha/457 acres
• Soils: Perruches and aubuis atop chalky subsoil with flint omnipresent
• Yield: 55 hl/ha, 3.9 tons/acre
• Blend: 60% red, 30% rosé (dry, demi-sec, sweet), 10% white (dry, demi-sec, sweet)
• RS: dry white/rosé: max 9 g/L; demi-sec white/rosé: max 9-17 g/L
• Varieties: primary: Chenin Blanc, Côt; secondary: Gamay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon allowed but not planted
• Release: rosé: Dec 15, white/red: Jan 15

• Red: no rules but usually 100% Côt, deep ruby-red, medium-bodied, with complex aromas of strawberry, violet, pepper, spice, silky tannins
• Rosé: direct press, no rules but based on Côt, bright pink with fresh red fruit flavors
• White: 100% Chenin Blanc, melon, pear, apricot evolving to quince and honey

• A blend of Cabernet Franc, Gamay, and Côt
• Note: Will disappear if proposed regulations phasing out Cabernet Franc are adopted

True

• Château d'Amboise: medieval, built by Fulk Nerra, Count of Anjou
• Château du Clos Luce: built 15th century, connected underground to Château d'Amboise, residence of Leonardo Da Vinci prior to his death here in 1519

• Subzone (DGC): white: 1953, rosé: 1979
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire
• Location: 8 villages, both banks of the Indre river
• Size: total: 1,000 ha/2,471 acres; vineyards: 60 ha/148 acres
• Soils: similar to its neighbor, Chinon - perruches and aubuis - with patches of aeolian (wind-blown) sand and clay
• Yield: 55 hl/ha, 3.9 tons/acre
• Blend: 50% white (dry, demi-sec), 50% rosé
• RS: dry white: max 9 g/L, demi-sec white: max 10-18 g/L, dry rosé: max 4 g/L
• Varieties: primary: Chenin Blanc, Grolleau; secondary: Côt, Gamay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon
• Release: rosé: Dec 15, white: Jan 15

True: rosé regulations say min 60% Grolleau, max 10% Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon

False: It must use the direct press method

True

• Azay in celtic means "of abundant water"
• Azay-le-Rideau is named in memory of Hugues de Ridel, Lord of Azay during the 12th century

• Rosé: direct press, based on Grolleau, salmon-pink, with aromas of rose, lilac, pear, cherry, almond; light-bodied fruity wines with lively acidity
• White: 100% Chenin Blanc, straw-yellow with minerality, quince, kumquat, and apricot

• It is a citrus fruit (looks like a small oblong orange-lemon) but you eat it all (even the peel and seeds)
• The flesh is sour and the peel is sweet

• Subzone (DGC): 2011
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher
• Location: 27 villages, both banks of the Cher river
• Size: total: 2,500 ha/6,178 acres; vineyards: 50 ha/123 acres
• Soils: limestone rich-slopes and perruches (flinty clay) dominates topsoil but left bank is sandier; grapes ripen 8-12 days later than the rest of Touraine
• Yield: red: 55 hl/ha, 3.9 tons/acre, white: 60 hl/ha, 4.3 tons/acre
• Blend: 80% white: 100% Sauvignon Blanc; 20% red: Côt must be majority, also Cabernet Franc, Gamay but no variety can be > 70%
• RS: white: max 4 g/L, red: max 2 g/L
• Varieties: primary: Chenin Blanc, Grolleau; secondary: Côt, Gamay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon
• Release: white: May 1, red: Sep 1
• 

• France's most visited castle after Versailles with 5 arches over the Cher river
• Known as the "Ladies' Château" because it was the residence of Diane de Poitiers and rival Catherine de' Medici and later Louise Dupin who invited Voltaire, Montesquieu, Marivaux, and Buffon as guests and Jean-Jacques Rousseaux as tutor to her son
• Note: the village has an "x" at the end but the castle does not

• Subzone (DGC): 1955
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher
• Location: 6 villages, right bank of the Loire river
• Size: vineyards: 100 ha/247 acres
• Soils: white: sandy-clay atop tuffeau; red: flint and siliceous (silicon dioxide, SiO2) sand
• Yield: rosé/red: 55 hl/ha, 3.9 tons/acre, white: 60 hl/ha, 4.3 tons/acre
• Varieties: primary: Chenin Blanc, Gamay; secondary: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Côt, Cabernet Franc
• Blend: 66% red, 25% rosé (dry, demi-sec, sweet), 9% white (dry, demi-sec, sweet)
• RS: red: max 2 g/L, dry white/rosé: max 9 g/L, demi-sec white/rosé: 9-17 g/L
• Wine: white: minerality, herbaceous, floral; rosé: strawberry, herbaceous; red: blackcurrants, raspberries
• Release: Dec 15

• White: Chenin Blanc must be majority, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay
• Red/Rosé: Gamay must be majority, Côt, Cabernet Franc

False: Gamay wasn't planted until 1,000 years later when a countess planted it at her castle in Monteaux, gaining favor at the expense of Côt

True

• Subzone (DGC): 1955
• Départements: Loir-et-Cher
• Location: 10 villages, between the Loire and Cher rivers
• Size: vineyards: 30 ha/74 acres
• Soils: sand and gravel atop clay subsoil; most are planted on slopes
• Yield: 60 hl/ha, 4.3 tons/acre
• Blend: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
• RS: max 4 g/L
• Release: May 1 (after approval of tasting panel)
• 

True: Autumns are warmer and dryer

True

• True: It thrives in sandy soil
• Note: Sologne is the area between the Loire and Cher rivers

True: Several of the appellation's best plots are already making wine under stricter requirements

A "subzone" is a complementary geographic denomination ("dénominations géographiques complémentaires" or DGC in the regulations). They are not full AOCs. They are areas within the AOC which have historically produced high quality wines and the regulations state that wines made in these areas may place their names on the label after Touraine.

• Regulations use the term DGC ("dénominations géographiques complémentaires").
• The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine AOC interprofessional agency uses the marketing term Crus Communaux for its DGCs.
• The Coteaux du Layon AOC uses Village Name DGCs.
• Coulée de Serrant and Roche aux Moines were DGCs of the Savennières AOC elevated to AOCs in 2011.

• Amboise: both banks of Loire; White/Red/Rosé: Chenin Blanc/Côt
• Azay-le-Rideau: both banks of Indre; White/Rosé: Chenin Blanc/Grolleau
• Chenonceaux: both banks of Cher; White/Red: Sauvignon Blanc/Côt
• Mesland: right bank of Loire; White/Red/Rosé: Chenin Blanc/Gamay
• Oisly: not along a river; White: Sauvignon Blanc

• AOC: 2001
• Départements: Indre-et-Loire
• Location: 5 villages, between the Cher and Indre rivers; this AOC is within the boundaries of the Touraine AOC
• Size: total: 400 ha/988 acres, vineyards: 30 ha/74 acres
• Soil: clay mixed with limestone and siliceous clay
• Yield: 55 hl/ha, 3.9 tons/acre
• Blend: 100% rosé, direct-press, Pinot Meunier must be majority, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris
• RS: max 4 g/L x
• Wine: pale pink, violets, strawberries, raspberries, subtle tannins, fresh acidity, light-bodied
• Release: Dec 15

True: Pinot Meunier can be briefly macerated but making red wines from the same vat is forbidden

• Noble: refers to the "noble" grape varieties grown here
• Joué: refers to the city of Joué-lès-Tours

• In the village of La Riche (just north of Joué-lès-Tours in Indre-et-Loire)
• Favorite castle of Louis XI, where he died (1423-1483)
• Louis XI was fond of Pinot varieties and this area became renowned for its "noble" wine

True

False: It receives more, with an annual average of 26 inches/650 mm

• AOC: 1975 Regional (Anjou-Saumur, Touraine, Cheverny)
• Départements: Maine-et-Loire, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne
• Location: 318 villages throughout the Middle Loire
• Size: vineyards: 1,600 ha/3,800 acres
• Yield: 74 hl/ha, 5.3 tons/acre
• Blend: 82% sparkling white, 18% sparkling rosé (same as Anjou Mousseux AOC)
• RS: not applicable
• Wine: whites are elegant with white fruit, lemon balm, hazelnuts, almonds; pinks are structured with red-berry fruit and subtle tannin
• Aging: min 9 months on lees

• AOC: 1974, Regional (Anjou-Saumur and Touraine)
• Départements: Maine-et-Loire, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne
• Location: 294 villages, both banks of the Loire river;
• Size: vineyards within Anjou: 500 ha/1,235 acres
• Yield: 60 hl/ha, 4.3 tons/acre
• Blend: dry rosé from any proportion of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grolleau Noir, Grolleau Gris, Pineau d'Aunis, Gamay, Pinot Noir
• RS: max 3 g/L
• Wine: rose-petal to raspberry pink with a glimmer of orange in color, aromas of strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, and violet.
• Aging/Release: drink young / primeur: 3rd Thursday in November; regular bottlings: Dec 15