Wine of Sancerre & the Upper Loire
The Loire Valley is home to over 4000 wineries that produce a vast variety of elegant, quality wines. They encompass racy whites, refreshing rosés, reds that favor fruit over force, and sparkling wines that even rival the neighboring Champagne region. Here in the "Garden of France", you can revel in beautiful summer days, stunning châteaux, and several of France's most underrated wines.
Within an area of 60 miles, there is a great variety of geology and climates, and the white wines of the Loire may be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet. The grapes most associated with the Loire wine region are Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. Sauvignon produces bright, acidic wines with notes of lemon, gooseberry, freshly cut grass, and black currant when grown in a cool area. It can have a subtle smoky note, which is why it's also known as "fumé blanc". The reds, made from the Pinot Noir grape, have the aromas of strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and subtle spice overtones identify Pinot noir. It's a fruit with a touch of acidity and a lot of gentle tannins. Aside from the Champagne region, the best sparkling wines come from the Loire wine region.
Like the majority of vineyards of France, the Romans were the first to make wine in the Loire. Upon conquering Gaul in the 1st century AD, they recognized the ideal climate and soil for growing vines, as well as the convenient river for transporting goods across the Empire.
By the Middle Ages, the Loire was at the heart of France. At the midpoint between the Latin south and the Germanic north, it was where both culture and language met. Monks of the Catholic Church tended the vineyards, and the wines gained popularity, especially with the English and the Dutch. The French aristocracy made the Loire a summer retreat in the 15th to 17th centuries, building lavish châteaux and further popularizing the local wines.
The French Revolution caused big changes in 1789. Building the national railroad brought both cheaper wines from the south and more exotic selections from Burgundy, Bordeaux and the Languedoc, leaving the Loire behind. While the Loire wine region was one of the last areas to be affected by phylloxera, it was also one of the last to recover.
When the Appellation d'Origin Contrôlée (AOC) was introduced in 1935, the Loire Valley was recognized as a region of quality. Today it has 69 AOP's (official designations), which make up 75% of the wine production.
The Upper (center) Loire may be the smallest, but it is home to the most famous Loire appellations – Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé wines. The Sauvignon Blanc from these two areas are emulated throughout the wine world.
The Sancerre wine region has more in common with the Burgundy region of Chablis (only 70 miles to the east) than with the rest of the Loire Valley. The climate is what can be called semi-continental, with big differences between the day and night-time. Frost is always a concern during spring, and fog engulfs the valley during autumn.
The Upper Loire is closest to the source of the Loire River in the Massif Central mountains. Most vineyards are found along the river where they take advantage of its temperature-moderating influence.
Sancerre is the most recognizable appellation for French Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire Valley. The Sancerre appellation is named after the village of the same name but the appellation covers vineyards planted in 14 surrounding communities .
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Sancerre is on the eastern edge of the Loire Valley. The soils vary quite a bit with three distinct soil types, all found atop a base of Kimmeridgian limestone, the same as Chablis, parts of Champagne, and the white cliffs of Dover. Terre Blanche is a mix of clay, Kimmeridgian limestone, and oyster shells, creating wines that are fruity, ageable, and angular with high acidity. Caillotes features small pebbles of Oxfordian limestone and yields wines with delicate perfume and less structure than Terre Blanche. Silex, or flint, lends a smoky, gunflint quality to the grapes.
White grape varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Chasselas, Pinot Gris and Sacy. On the right bank of the river to the south are the vineyards of Pouilly-Fumé. Sauvingon Blanc is the only sanctioned grape, and the region owes its name to the "smoky" attributes wines have from being grown on silex (flint) soils.
While the white wines may represent some of the finest that France has to offer, Sancerre produces red wine and rosé, too. Sancerre, before the phylloxera epidemic struck in the mid-nineteenth century, was predominantly a red wine producing area with Pinot Noir and Gamay grown here. It was Sancerre's neighboring appellation on the other side of the Loire river, Pouilly Fumé, that took care of the white wines. It was only after phylloxera that the decision was made to replant the majority of the vineyards in Sancerre with disease-resistant Sauvignon Blanc.
The red wines of Sancerre are made entirely from Pinot Noir and around 25% of the region is planted with the red Pinot Noir grape. In the past, these used to be mainly thin and weedy but that has changed. Producers have learned to make red wines that are close to attaining the heights of Burgundian Pinot Noir.
During the 1990's, a number of the appellation's top producers made the bold decision to place a greater focus on the production of Pinot Noir. They started reducing Pinot Noir yields and picking more selectively in an attempt to produce more concentrated reds with greater depth and complexity. The effort put into growing Pinot Noir in the chalk soils of Sancerre was worth it and that there was a logic to putting the red vines among the ocean of Sauvignon Blanc.
Visit This Superb Wine Region on a Luxury Barge Cruise
The French Hotel Barge Renaissance cruises along the Canal de Briare, France's oldest canal which is steeped in history on a route that features elegant châteaux, small countryside villages, and the famed wine-growing region of Sancerre. Contact Paradise Connections – we are happy to assist with your barging vacation.
French Hotel Barge Renaissance
Upper Loire/ W. Burgundy: Canal de Briare
Up to 8 guests
Charters and Cabin cruises
Themed Cruises
Family, Golf, Wine
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