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France

Loire Valley

57 000 ha under vine

Soils
Tuffeau limestone, flint and clay upstream; gneiss and schist toward the ocean
Climate
Oceanic at the mouth, shading continental upstream — always at ripeness's edge

On the map

Loire Valley — 57 000 haLanguedoc — 220 000 haBordeaux — 110 000 haSicily — 98 000 haVeneto — 96 000 haPuglia — 87 000 haSouthern Rhône — 66 000 haRioja — 66 000 haTuscany — 60 000 haEmilia-Romagna — 50 000 haKakheti — 48 000 haSouth-West France — 45 000 haPiedmont — 43 000 haDouro — 43 000 haChampagne — 34 000 haAbruzzo — 33 000 haUtiel-Requena — 32 000 haBurgundy — 29 500 haProvence — 27 000 haSardinia — 27 000 haFriuli — 25 000 haRibera del Duero — 25 000 haPenedès — 25 000 haPfalz — 23 000 haCampania — 23 000 haAlentejo — 22 000 haMinho — 21 000 haRueda — 20 000 haDão — 20 000 haMarche — 16 000 haAlsace — 15 600 haBeaujolais — 13 500 haBurgenland — 13 000 haUmbria — 12 000 haCalabria — 9 000 haMosel — 8 800 haDalmatia — 8 000 haJerez — 7 000 haCyprus — 7 000 haAttica — 6 500 haFranken — 6 100 haCorsica — 6 000 haTokaj — 5 800 haAlto Adige — 5 600 haValais — 4 800 haNorthern Rhône — 4 400 haRías Baixas — 4 300 haNahe — 4 200 haSussex & Kent — 4 000 haRheingau — 3 200 haBierzo — 3 000 haNemea — 3 000 haSavoie — 2 200 haJura — 2 000 haPriorat — 2 000 haWachau — 1 350 haValdeorras — 1 300 haSantorini — 1 100 haNaoussa — 700 haMadeira — 450 haColares — 20 haLoire ValleyLanguedocBordeauxSicilyVenetoPugliaSouthern RhôneRiojaTuscanyEmilia-RomagnaKakhetiSouth-West FrancePiedmontDouroChampagneAbruzzoUtiel-RequenaBurgundyProvenceSardiniaFriuliRibera del DueroPenedèsPfalzCampaniaAlentejoMinhoRuedaDãoMarcheAlsaceBeaujolaisBurgenlandUmbriaCalabriaMoselDalmatiaJerezCyprusAtticaFrankenCorsicaTokajAlto AdigeValaisNorthern RhôneRías BaixasNaheSussex & KentRheingauBierzoNemeaSavoieJuraPrioratWachauValdeorrasSantoriniNaoussaMadeiraColares
Blob size ≈ vineyard area · approximate locations · coastlines from Natural Earth

The royal river. Kings built their châteaux along the Loire and dug their cellars into its tuffeau — the soft white limestone that built Chambord and now ages wine in its quarries. No other river in France carries such diversity: salt-edged Muscadet at the mouth, Chenin in all its forms in Anjou and Touraine, flint-struck Sauvignon at Sancerre, far upstream.

Chinon and Bourgueil are Cabernet Franc's oldest home — Rabelais's "breton", planted here centuries before the Médoc borrowed it — and Touraine still grows Malbec under its old name of côt. Cool, northern and long underrated, the valley has become the laboratory of French wine's new generation.

The vineyard

Indicative share of plantings

The wines

Sancerre Dry white Vouvray Dry white Muscadet Dry white Cour-Cheverny Dry white

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 5The Monastic Middle Ages — 45Exploration & the Fortified Age — 35Classifications & the Golden Age — 35Phylloxera & the World Crises — 30The Modern & New World Era — 55Antiquity5500150017001875195055
Origins & Antiquity Antiquity The Monastic Middle Ages 500 Exploration & the Fortified Age 1500 Classifications & the Golden Age 1700 Phylloxera & the World Crises 1875 The Modern & New World Era 1950