Welcome
Vouvray
Vouvray is one of the most respected and loved French wine appellations in the Loire Valley and the most distinguished in Touraine and the heart of the Valley. Vouvray producers are highly skilled, as they make a wide range of wine styles, all with the noble varietal native to the region, Chenin Blanc.
The appellation Vouvray covers 30 kilometres along the Loire River. The first vines in the area go back to 372, when Saint Martin himself planted vines in the region, not knowing he was planting the seeds of a world-renowned appellation. Here, Pinot de la Loire, AKA Chenin Blanc, thrives in diverse micro-climates, allowing producers to craft world-class wines in a wide range of styles. Vouvray is home to dry table wines, dessert wine and bubbly renditions of Chenin Blanc. Here’s all you need to know about the remarkable Vouvray and its Chenin.
Production
The Loire Valley produces close to three million gallons of wine every year from 2,200 hectares of Chenin Blanc around the towns of Tours, Vouvray, Chançay, Noizay, Reugny, Rochecorbon, Vernou-sur-Brenne, Parçay-Meslay. The vineyards are planted over chalky soils in the hillsides and clay specked with flint near the Loire river. The Atlantic influence is felt in the region, mainly refreshing the vines with a cool and humid breeze.
Around 52% of the wine in Vouvray, made by over 150 producers, is sparkling; the rest is still dry wine. Sweet sparkling and still wines also exist, but they’re far less common. There could be no successful sparkling wine industry in the area without the extensive Troglodyte tuffeau caves under the region’s hills. The tunnels provide the perfect temperature and humidity to age wine for years and sometimes decades, rewarding producers with a vast colour palette to blend their wines.
Historically, the Loire river provided merchants with a bountiful pathway to stock their ships with premium wine, often traded in England, where Loire Valley wine has always been highly prized. Today, the region benefits from tourism, as wine lovers from every corner of the earth travel to the area to quench their thirsts and satisfy their deepest cravings.
Grape Varieties and Blends
Vouvray specialises in a single varietal, Chenin Blanc, locally called Pineau de la Loire. Lesser-known varieties are also permitted, including Arbois, but they’re rarely used in fine wine production.
Chenin Blanc has been cultivated in France for over 1,000 years, and although the varietal is now grown worldwide, its spiritual home is the Loire Valley. The white grape is prized for its resilience and versatility. Traditionally, producers used tart grapes from cold vintages to produce sparkling wine, ripe grapes for table wine and grapes affected by the rare noble rot (botrytis cinerea) for lusciously sweet wines.
Wines made with Chenin are always acidic, but the grapes can also produce high sugar. This means producers can craft balanced wines in all sweetness levels, and they do. Chenin can also benefit from oak ageing, a treatment few white grapes can endure, but most modern Vouvray only sees stainless steel tanks. The wines are gorgeous either way. From starters to dessert, there’s a Vouvray for every occasion.
Buy Vouvray Wines from Hourlier Wines
Hourlier Wines offers wine lovers a vast collection of French wine, including a fine selection of Vouvray. Explore these specialities and discover the extraordinary wine grown on the Loire’s clay and limestone bench.
Vouvray: Domaine Paris Sec White
Domaine de Paris Pere & Fils represents some of the finest wines in Vouvray. The estate owns 12 hectares of vines in the appellation, and they have been passed down from generation to generation since 1934. The domaine produces sweet, dry and sparkling wine with Chenin and is a true ambassador for the region’s versatile wine style.
The estate’s Vouvray Sec is a pale golden wine, vinified and aged in demi-muids. The balanced acidity and textural palate support aromas of white flowers and dry hay in the background for a unique take on the multi-faceted grape. Enjoy with fresh cheese, finger food, whitefish and poached poultry.
Vouvray: Domaine Paris Brut Sparkling White
Another example from Domaine Paris’ underground cellars, this sparkling Vouvray is fermented in stainless steel and aged on its lees for two months before maturing for 20 months in the Domaine’s tuffeau caves.
Creamy and buttery, this dry sparkling wine has an immense textural depth and floral aromatics mixed with notes of quince. There’s no doubt this extraordinary example of Vouvray’s sparkling wines has a place on the table, although it’s a beautiful stand-alone as well. Pair with creamy sauces, seafood, oily fish and semi-hard cheese.
FAQ
Where does Vouvray wine originate?
Vouvray is a French Appellation in the Touraine sub-region of the Loire Valley. The area comprises clay and chalk soils along the Loire River. The wines are made with Chenin Blanc, considered a local variety that has adapted perfectly to the Atlantic-influenced terroir.
What does Vouvray wine taste like?
Vouvray is made with Chenin Blanc. A medium-bodied white grape with floral and herbal scents, piercing acidity and medium alcoholic strength. Quince and apricot scents are not uncommon. Oak spices and creaminess from malolactic fermentation and lees ageing make some Vouvray wines bolder and more decadent, although most examples are refreshing and reasonably light.
Which food groups pair well with Vouvray wine?
Vouvray produces such an array of wine styles that there’s one for every meal and occasion. The wines always enjoy a lively acidity, becoming increasingly compatible with food. Fresh cheese, seafood, cream sauces, roasted poultry, pork, eggs, and even creamy puff-pastry desserts can be paired successfully with Vouvray. The region’s sparkling wine also comes in various sweetness levels, opening many more wine-pairing opportunities to wine lovers willing to explore the region’s wines.
