Tag Archives: Loire

Easter Alleviation: Langlois-Chateau, Brut Rose, Cremant de Loire, France NV

Posted on April 17, 2014 by waywardwine

Easter arrives this weekend. But before you ruin both Cooks, André, Prosecco (and your palate) with orange juice, elegant-up your game with a Brut Rosé from the Loire. Parisian bistros pretty much funnel the stuff upriver, filling glasses of beret … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Brut, Cabernet Franc, Easter, Langlois, Langlois Chateau, Loire, Rosé | 2 Comments

Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame: New Wine Kid on the Block

Posted on January 6, 2014 by waywardwine

Day 91 of our EU Austerity Drinking Tour sees us leaving Nantes and the Loire. But before Bordeaux, we toast to this river ribbon of viticulture one last time.

Since this is an Austerity Drinking Tour, walking, public transport, and home-stays have helped us save money for drinking. Free tastings at Nantes’ Maison des Vins de Loire helped us visit over twenty wineries that only a pricy rental could. Of those, three came home with us.

It is our last day. Heavy rains and my wife’s emerging flu keep us in our cosy, colorful basement. Between packing, I create an advanced wine-chiller and put it outside: Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Anjou, Cabernet Franc, chenin blanc, France, Loire, Moulin de Chauvigné, Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame, Savenniéres, wine | Leave a comment

Other Muscadets and Oddities: Coteaux de la Loire, Grandlieu, Gros Plant, Fiefs Vendeens, Chenin, and Muscadet

Posted on December 23, 2013 by waywardwine

Yes. Winter grips the Northern hemisphere. But turn your minds to warmer weather. Our 7 month 13 country EU Austerity Drinking Tour has visited Muscadet’s famed Sèvre-et-Maine and every-day Muscadet. This Monday, we try on Muscadet’s other wine regions for size.

On the Loire’s right bank, North of Sèvre et Maine sits Coteaux de la Loire in the hills above Ancenis:

They too mainly grow Muscadet. But how do they perform:

Les Vignerons de la Noëlle’s “Folies Siffait” Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire, France 2011

Like most Muscadet, Noëlle looks pale lemon with a slight fizz. Continue reading →

Posted in Muscadet, White, WINERIES WANDERED | Tagged Armagnac, chenin blanc, Cognac, Coteaux de la Loire, European Union, Fiefs Vendéens, Folle Blanche, France, Grand-Lieu, GrandLieu, Landelle, Les Vignerons de la Noëlle, Loire, Muscadet, Noëlle, Savenniéres | 2 Comments

Nantes, Muscadet, and the vines of Sevre et Maine: EU Austerity Drinking Tour #51

Posted on December 2, 2013 by waywardwine

86 days into our EU Austerity Drinking Tour, we leave Tours for Nantes: port of entry into France’s Loire River.

We pass the lovely hills of Saumur and Chinon: famed for cabernet franc.

Then the miserable, industrial Angers flattens before us: a wine region overstretched to countless styles, including the derided Rosé d’Anjou.

But finally our train stops in magnificent Nantes.

Yes. Nantes has castles, chocolate shops, and museums: very French but very Brittany. Really though, Nantes, in a nutshell, is Syfy’s town of Eureka. Jules Verne was born here. Industrial cranes and factories pop up everywhere. The city boasts more trams, buses, trains, and bike-shares than needed. They have a whole, magnificent island dedicated to steam-punk machines: Continue reading →

Posted in Loire, WINERIES WANDERED | Tagged Angers, Anjou, Anjou wine, Brittany, Cabernet Franc, Chinon, European Union, France, Jules Verne, Loire, Melon de Bourgogne, Muscadet, Nantes, Saumur | 3 Comments

Chenonceau Castle, Gamay, and a new AOC Touraine Chenonceaux: EU Austerity Drinking Tour #50

Posted on November 25, 2013 by waywardwine

Before our EU Austerity Drinking Tour leaves the central Loire for it’s Atlantic Coast, we have to squeeze in a castle. Think of Bordeaux. You probably think of famed Châteaux. But most of those are 19th century, retro-wannabes. Only true, … Continue reading →