France - Loire Valley

Question 1

What are the principal varieties of Pays Nantais?

Answer 1

• Melon
• Chardonnay
• Gamay
• Folle Blanche
• Cabernet Franc

Question 2

What are the climate of Pays Nantais?

Answer 2

A cool maritime climate with cool springs, warm and humid summers.
The thread of rain at any time through the growing season especially in March/April (affecting flowering) and in September (affecting harvest)

Question 3

Does Melon bud and ripen early or late?

Answer 3

It buds early and ripens early.

Question 4

What are the characteristics of Melon?

Answer 4

• High acidity
• Light body
• low to the low end of medium alcohol
• low aromatic intensity
• often made sur lie

Question 5

What diseases Melon is resistant to and susceptible to?

Answer 5

Good resistance: powder mildew
Susceptible: downy mildew and botrytis rot

Question 6

What vineyard management techniques are often used for Melon?

Answer 6

• spray to prevent fungal diseases
• canopy management, leaf removal

Question 7

What are the Muscadet appellations?

Answer 7

• Muscdet Sevre et Maine
• Muscadet
• Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire
• Muscadet Cotes de Grandlieu

Question 8

What is the aging requirement of the sur lie?

Answer 8

Must be bottled between March 1st and November 30th of the year following harvest

Question 9

Up to what percentage ABV is chaptalization permitted in Pays Nantais?

Answer 9

12 %

Question 10

Using bullet points, briefly describe the process of ageing the wines of Pays Nantais sur lie. Include details on what effect this has on the wine.

Answer 10

• After the alcoholic fermentation is completed, the wine is racked off to remove the gross lees.
• The wine then remains in contact with the fine lees, usually in a glass-lined concrete tanks.
• The wine stays on the fine lees through the winter following harvest and until bottling.
• Sur lie wines must be bottled between 1 March and 30 November of the year following harvest and in the winery in which they were made.
• Ageing on the lees increases the body and mouthfeel of the wine while retaining freshness and sometimes a small amount of carbon dioxide, which is part of the style of these wines.

Question 11

What are the Muscadet Cru Communaux?

Answer 11

• Clisson
• Gorges
  (on the lees for 24 months)
• La Pallet (on the lees for 18 months)

Question 12

Briefly describe why multiple passes may have to be done when handpicking Chenin Blanc grapes at harvest.

Answer 12

Chenin Blanc does not ripen evenly within a bunch and in certain vintages i.e. cooler vintages, this can be a particular issue. To ensure the grapes are fully ripe, several passes may be made during harvest to pick the riper berries. This variety is also susceptible to botrytis. Botrytis attacks berries and multiple passes are necessary to pick the berries affected by botrytis and depending on the desired sweetness levels required for the style of wine.

Question 13

What are the max yields of the sweet wine appellation with Coteaux du Layon AOC?

Answer 13

Quarts de Charme Grand Cru: 20 hl/ha
Coteaux du Layon Premieur Cru Chaume: 25 hl/ha
Bonnezeaux: 25 hl/ha
Coteaux du Layon + named village: 30 hl/ha
Coteaux du Layon: 35 hl/ha

Question 14

Very shallow soils over limestone. Fruit grown on these soils are said to produce the most aromatic wines that are first to be ready to drink and to have less potential for ageing in the bottle.

Answer 14

Caillottes

Question 15

The same limestone and marl that is to be found in Chablis. Fruit grown on these soils are said to produce the most structured wines that need long maturation before they are ready to drink and age well.

Answer 15

Terre Blanches

Question 16

Flinty soils that accumulates heat and leads to early ripening. Fruit grown on these soils are said to produce mineral and smoky wines.

Answer 16

Silex

Question 17

Evaluate the role of négociants in the Loire Valley as a whole.

Answer 17

Negocients are very important selling 50 percent of all wine by volume for the Loire Valley as a whole. The top 10 negociants account for 82 percent of all sales within the negociant sector. Negociants have increasingly opted to vinify their wines themselves rather than relying on mainly on buying finished wines. The large negociant companies have wineries spread across the Loire from the Pays Nantais to Sancerre. Some have also bought prestige estates. Examples include Grand Chais de France buying Charteau des Fesles (Bonnezaux) and Chateau de Cleray (Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine) and Ackerman buying Chateau de Variere (Anjou) and Chateau de Sancerre. Equally, an increasing number of family estates has a negociant side to their business. This tendency has accelerated with the recent frosts and hail damage, which have severely reduced their crop, so buying in grapes, juice or wine can be a way of keeping their clients and avoiding severe financial problems.

Question 18

Does Chenin Blanc bud and ripen early or later?

Answer 18

It buds early, prone to spring frost. It ripens late making it vulnerable to the onset of autumn rains. It ripens unevenly

Question 19

Does Cabernet Franc bud and ripen early or later?

Answer 19

It buds early, it prone to spring frost. It is a mid-ripening variety

Question 20

What are the 2 smaller AOCs within Savennieres?

Answer 20

• Savennieres la Roche aux Moines
• Coulee de Serrant (monppole, owned by Nicolas Joly)
  30 hl/ha for dry wines

Question 21

What are the soils of Vouvray?

Answer 21

flinty, clay, and limestone over a tuff, enabling drainage

Question 22

What are the climate of the Central Vineyards?

Answer 22

A continental with cold winters and warm summers

Question 23

what are the climatic threats in the Central Vineyards?

Answer 23

Spring frosts and summer hailstorms

Question 24

Does Sauvignon Blanc bud and ripen early or later?

Answer 24

It buds later and ripens relatively early. It is suitable to be grown in cool climates and regions with a threat of early autumn rains

Question 25

What diseases Sauvignon Blanc prone to?

Answer 25

Powdery mildew, botrytis bunch rot and trunk diseases (esca)

Question 26

Who founded “Renaissance des appellations / Return to Terroir” group?

Answer 26

Nicolas Joly

Question 27

What are variety requirement of Pouilly Fume?

Answer 27

Sauvignon Blanc only. A little rounder and less aromatic than Sancerre and needs a little more time - six months to a year in a bottle

Question 28

What are the variety requirement of Quincy?

Yield?

Answer 28

Sauvignon Blanc (90%) and Sauvignon Gris

Same as Sancerre - 65hl/ha for whites.

Question 29

What are the famous vineyards of Sancerre?

Answer 29

Cotes des Monts Damnes (Chavignol)
Cul de Beaujeu
- both terre blanches

Les Romains
- silex

Question 30

What are the variety requirement of Reuilly?

Answer 30

White: 100$ Sauv Blanc
Red: 100% Pinot Noir
Rose: Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir