General Flashcards
(203 cards)
How long west to east is the Loire Valley?
Where does it rank in size among French wine regions?
1,000 kilometers
3rd
How did Muscadet get it’s name?
Dutch traders looking for a neutral, high-acid white wine that they could add to the botanical noix de muscade (nutmeg) prior to distillation.
What is the 1577 law by the Parlement de Paris?
How did this impact Touraine?
- prohibited Parisians from purchasing wines made within a 20-league (around 88-kilometer) radius of the capital
- Touraine was one of the main areas to benefit but over the centuries the Parisian market didn’t want to pay a high price for quality. “By the beginning of the seventeenth century, Orléans wine was already banned from the royal table and it lost the last shreds of its reputation over the decades that followed.”
When did Phylloxera arrive in the Loire?
How did it impact grape varieties being planted after grafting?
1877
Sancerre switched from Pinot Noir to Sauvignon Blanc, while Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc gained popularity in Anjou-Saumur.
How did WWII effect the Loire?
- During World War II, the Loire Valley’s wine regions were occupied by the Germans. Saumur was a center of resistance: weapons and documents were hidden in casks that crossed the line between free and occupied France, which was situated south of the river.
- men in the region became prisoners of war, including Gaston Huet, who returned to his native Vouvray having lost one-third of his body weight
- Vineyards fell into disrepair, with no one to work in them, and without fungicides or pesticides to control the spread of disease
- Following the war, many young people left the countryside to work in cities, while those who stayed began bottling their own wines or organized themselves into cooperatives and started selling their wines in the bistros of Paris.
Which areas of the Loire Valley has the most production?
Anjou-Saumur
What percentage of production in the Loire is AOP?
VdF?
78%
12%
What are the IGPs of the Loire?
- Val de Loire- 9% of all Loire Production
- Côtes de la Charité
- Coteaux de Tannay
- Coteaux du Cher et de l’Arnon
- Puy de Dôme
What percentage of Loire Valley wine is sold in France?
75%
What are the biggest internationall markets for Loire wine?
- US
- the UK
- Germany
- Belgium
- Canada
How long would it take to drive from Muscadet to Sancerre?
Over 4 hours
What is the average cost of a hectare of vineyard land in….
Muscadet?
Vouvray?
Sancerre?
Anjou?
€7,000 in Muscadet
€26,000 in Vouvray
€210,000 in Sancerre
€18,000 in Anjou
What and where is the Armorican Massif?
- Oldest Rock formation in France
- Covers northwestern France, and the western part of the Loire
- emains of the giant Hercynian range of mountains from the Precambrian era. Looking at the landscape today, it is hard to believe that mountains were once here, as the land is low-lying, with only gentle slopes
What regions soils are formed by the Armorcian Massif?
- Muscadet and other appellations of the Nantais region and the western half of Anjou, including Savennières
- Anjou Noir (or Black Anjou) because of the dark soils that characterize the Armorican Massif. Granite, gneiss, multicolored schist, slate, and pudding stones are found here.
Where is the dividing line between Anjou Noirs and Anjou Blanc?
What major geological formation begins with Anjou Blanc?
Just east of Angers
Paris Basin
What major geological formation is further upstream, or south, on the Loire past the Paris Basin?
Massif Central
Characterize the soils of each…
Armoricain Massif?
Paris Basin?
Massif Central?
Armorician Massif - Granite, gneiss, multicolored schist, slate, and pudding stones from the giant Hercynian range of mountains from the Precambrian era 600 million years ago
Paris Basin - soft, chalky Cretaceous limestone, and some flint, formed from Cretaceous and Jurassic periods (67 to 195 million years ago)
Massif Central - younger soils Schists and granite predominate formed from decomposed Volcanoes
What parallel does the Loire Valley lie on?
47th
- Only Champagne and Alsace are further north
What is the climate of each subregion…
Nantais?
Anjou?
Saumur?
Touraine?
Central Vineyards?
Nantais - Maritime
Anjou - Temperate-oceanic
Saumur - Continental
Touraine - More Continental
Central Vineyards - Even more Continental
What is the major climate risk to Loire vineyards?
Frost
Recently - 2021, 2019, 2017, and 2016
What are other climate risks to the Loire Valley?
Hail, autumn rain, mildew
Where does the Loire Valley rank in sparkling wine production?
2nd behind Champagne
How can sparkling wine be used as an insurance policy in the Loire?
Grapes that arent able to ripen fully can be used for sparkling wine
List the rivers or tributaries of the Loire with wine growing regions from West to East and their regions
- Lay - Fiefs Vendeens - Only river that isn’t a tributary of the Loire
- Maine - Sevre-et-Maine
- Sèvre Nantaise - Sevre-et-Maine
- Layon - Coteaux du Layon (villages), Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru, Bonnezeaux
- Aubance - Anjou-Brissac, Coteaux de l’Aubance
- Thouet - Saumur, Saumur-Champigny, Anjou
- Venne - Chinon
- Loir - Anjou, Coteaux du Loir, Jasnieres, Coteaux du Vendomois
- Indre - Touraine (Azay-le-Rideau subzone)
- Cher - Montlouis-sur-Loire, Touraine (Chenonceaux), Valencay, Quincy
- Beuvron - Cheverny, Cour-Cheverny
- Amon - Reuilly