For those who’ve undertaken to pursue the world of fine French wine, frequently one is pointed to three very famous regions as a starting point: Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Champagne. Each of these has plenty of interest and history, but because they’re the most famous in France, the wines are often the most expensive available; the names of the regions themselves function a bit like brand names.

Val de Loire, Jacques Liozu, 1951

As a result, we try to nudge people to drink from other regions in France when they want wines of really high quality but also value. One of the viticultural areas where we’re particularly devoted is the beautiful Loire Valley, named for the 175 miles of riverbanks, surrounding hills, and lowlands that border the Loire river to the north and the south. The history in this region is ancient and remarkable: the Romans planted vineyards at the delta of the river, where its branches tilt into the Atlantic in the Pays Nantais, 2000 years ago. A few centuries later, the churchmen in monastic orders began to make real note of vineyards across the whole valley. Before long, the Augustines and the Benedictines were turning the whole massive stretch, from Nantes in the west to Orléans in the east, into well-mapped and beautifully tended vineyard area. 

Courtesy of Bois Brincon

That history persists today; many of the sites where monks were operating vineyards have been consistently under vine for upwards of 1,000 years. (!) In addition, in our modern moment, the Loire is now known for being a nurturing arena for young winemakers, natural farming, and avant-garde techniques in wine production. Anjou, a big subregion in the center of the river valley, is home to one of the biggest concentrations of natural winemakers in France, having exploded with exciting new activity in the last 20 years. It’s perhaps only rivaled by Beaujolais in France for experimental ideas, new small wineries, and the sheer number of producers dedicated to hand-work in vineyards and cellar.

And if the history and the new natural movement weren’t enough, the Loire is also home in general to a deep diversity of soil types, vineyard aspects, and native varieties: both white and red varieties reach excellent heights in terms of quality here due to the differences in climate and terrain. Whether you explore the famous Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, and Sauvignon Blanc, or if you steer into weirder territory with Grolleau, Melon de Bourgogne, Pineau d’Aunis, and so on, it’s easy to see the depth of exploration that’s possible in this verdant, historical, and also progressive territory.

FEATURED PRODUCTS:

Lavie “Clisson” Muscadet 2021

Marc Pesnot “La Folle Blanche” 2022

Sagesse des Sols “Les Gobelets” Anjou 2021

La Grapperie “L’Enchanteresse” 2020

SHOP THE COLLECTION: Loire Valley