loire valley

  1. Lauverjat Menetou-Salon: A Family Battles Historic Forces; ‘We No Longer Have Seasons’

    Lauverjat Menetou-Salon: A Family Battles Historic Forces; ‘We No Longer Have Seasons’

    We were at a small wine shop, looking for a nice end-of-summer white. We spotted the bottle at the same time and both said, “Awwww.” It was Menetou-Salon, a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley of France, which we don’t see that often. When we do, we think of Windows on the World in New York’s World Trade Center, where we first tasted it decades before terrorists brought down the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001, killing almost 3,000 people. We recalled that first bottle when we had another Menetou-Salon at a French restaurant in St. Maarten during a cruise in 2006 and toasted our dear wine-loving friend Cathy, who we lost in that devastating attack 21 years ago. 

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  2. Menetou-Salon and the Saga of Jacques Coeur

    Menetou-Salon and the Saga of Jacques Coeur

    Near Bourges, France lies the AOC of Menetou-Salon. The appellation's original fanboy, Jacques Coeur led a turbulent life of intrigue and scandal.
  3. The Brave Old World of Quincy

    The Brave Old World of Quincy

    What do Aldous Huxley and Sauvignon Blanc have in common?
  4. Beyond Oysters: Muscadet Comes Out of Its Shell

    Beyond Oysters: Muscadet Comes Out of Its Shell

    The word "neutral" has been thrown around regarding this wine for ages. The blank slate of the Melon De Bourgogne grape that gives us Muscadet can be more expressive than some think.
  5. Take a Virtual Reality Tour of Winemaker Aurore Dezat's Sancerre Winery

    Take a Virtual Reality Tour of Winemaker Aurore Dezat's Sancerre Winery

    "In Sancerre the date, the time we pick your grapes is of great importance to get a wine of quality that will be easy to make later." Take a 360 tour with Sancerre winemaker Aurore Dezat.
  6. Acidity is the signature of the Loire Valley: Frederic Moreau of Loire Propriétés

    Acidity is the signature of the Loire Valley: Frederic Moreau of Loire Propriétés

    "... it is the vintage, the terroir, the grape variety that guides the vinification. It is the tasting of the grapes, and then the juices, that will allow me to express the potential of each year, of each plot." Frederic Moreau
  7. Christophe Boutet of Domaine Boutet Saulnier on the Magic of Vouvray

    Christophe Boutet of Domaine Boutet Saulnier on the Magic of Vouvray

    Grape Collective talks with Christophe Boutet of Domaine Boutet Saulnier about the magic of Chenin Blanc in Vouvray.
  8. Sauvignon Blanc That’s Profound? Sancerre ‘Expresses What Is Important’

    Sauvignon Blanc That’s Profound? Sancerre ‘Expresses What Is Important’

    "There’s something special about Sancerre. It has a confidence and depth that seem wise, even as it retains that lemon-lime, acidic, mineral-rich crispness that defines good Sauvignon Blanc." Dorothy J. Gaiter
  9. Coteaux du Giennois and Emmanuel Charrier of Domaine de l’Epineau

    Coteaux du Giennois and Emmanuel Charrier of Domaine de l’Epineau

    "Sancerre and Coteaux du Giennois belong to the same wine area “Vins du Centre Loire”, we have the same type of soils with all their specificities and the same grapes." Emmanuel Charrier of Domaine de l’Epineau
  10. Pascal Jolivet On Using Instincts To Make Wine

    Pascal Jolivet On Using Instincts To Make Wine

    By doing the opposite of "what he was supposed to do" Pascal Jolivet is creating pure, terroir-driven Loire Valley wines.
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