Loire Valley Flashcards
What is the longest river in France?
The Loire River
What is the furthest west region of Loire?
Muscadet
What is the furthest east region of Loire?
Pouilly-Fume
How many appellations in Loire?
63
What is the one thing all Loire wines have in common?
A taut, wiry freshness thanks to the region’s cool, northern climate. Like Champagne, Loire exists on the fringe of the lowest temperatures at which grapes can ripen.
What are the two leading white grapes in Loire / where did they originate?
Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, both originated in Loire.
List all white grapes grown in Loire
Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Arbois, Chardonnay, Folle Blanc, Melon De Bourgogne
List all red grapes grown in Loire
Cab Franc, Gamay, Pinot Noir, Grolleau, Cab Sauv, Cot, Pineau D’Aunis, Pinot Meunier
Region of Eastern Loire (Tier 1 and 2)
- Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, Menetou-Salon
2. Reuilly and Quincy
What is silex?
A flint and sand based soil that combines clay, limestone, and silica
What is les caillottes?
Gravel intermixed with limestone
What runs through Loire that gives its wine even more vivid acidity?
Abrupt fault lines run through the region, many soils are valued for what growers say is the minerality added to the wine.
What is the difference between Kimmeridigan-era limestone and Portlandian-era limestone?
K has sea fossils and P does not.
Are there red and rose Sancerre?
Yes! 12% of all production.
What grapes are grown in Sancerre?
Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Gamay
How does the soil in Pouilly-Fume differ from the soil in Sancerre?
The soil in PF contains slightly more limestone and flint.
What grape is grown in Menetou-Salon
Sauvignon Blanc
Red and rose wine, as well as white wine, are all made in Quincy or Reuilly?
Quincy is all white, Reuilly has all three
In the mid 1990’s a Sancerre ruling prevented what from being printed on wine labels?
The name of the vineyard
Who first propounded biodynamics, the holistic system of living agriculture?
Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner