Date£º
2014-09-15 10:34 Source£º
winesearcher Author:
AFP with Wine Searcher staff Translator:
As the harvest begins along the Loire, producers struggle with their greatest asset ¨C diversity.
The 2014 harvest has begun along the 500-mile Loire Valley, with Melon de Bourgogne grapes being picked for Muscadet wines.
One of the largest wine regions of France, the Loire Valley covers fifteen departments and 52,000 hectares (128,000 acres) of vines shared between 7000 growers, who produce nearly 400 million bottles of wines annually from several different varieties. And variety is the key word in the Loire, which reperesents more than just Sancerre and Pouilly-Fum¨¦.
"Overall there is a temperate climate in the Loire Valley but it varies between more oceanic influences in the Nantes region and Anjou, and a more continental influence ... in Saumur and Touraine. This gives an exceptional variety," said Jean-Pierre Gouvaz¨¦, delegate of the regional producers¡¯ organization Interloire.
"The Loire is a garden, a mosaic of tastes and flavors with 45 appellations that attract curious wine lovers."
Gouvaz¨¦ said that the wide range of wines produced allowed the Loire to be a leading provider of wine to the restaurant trade in France.
"There is always at least one wine from the Loire Valley on restaurant menus," he said.
"The adaptability of the wines of the Loire Valley to the various dishes is exceptional," said Jacques Puisais, a scientist and gourmet based in Chinon, and nicknamed "the Pope of the Tastebuds" by his peers.
Fans of Loire wines are predominantly local: three quarters of the production is sold in the region, although exports are growing steadily; the United States is now the largest foreign consumer market, followed by the British and Belgians.
"The Loire Valley produces wines for drinking as well as cellaring," says Jean-Luc P¨¦chinot, a food critic.
The vineyards of the Loire Valley suffer from an image problem and possibly something of an identity crisis, said Gouvaz¨¦.
"This is the result of our history ... we are a federation, a mosaic of names. This is certainly a commercial handicap, not having a strong brand display."
For Jacques Puisais, the relative disdain of major critics can be explained mainly by the low prices the Loire's wines command.
"Media go where there is money and the Loire Valley is not a speculator market. This is a region that requests you to go to her, and offers you the joy of discovery."