https://www.guildsomm.com/learn/study/w/study-wiki/208/north-americaSat, 17 Oct 2026 13:59:00 GMT8277e151-5ba9-4335-93f0-6f497ffb8dc4:7d066d99-d437-4e2d-bc4e-c0a3f8b1d65dJonathan EichholzContents The United States History of Wine in America The AVA System and Labeling Requirements California California: The North Coast California: The Central Coast California: The Central Valley and Sierra Foothills Washington Oregon New York Other Winemaking Areas of the US Canada Ontario British Columbia Mexico The United States The United States of America is the world’s fourth largest producer of wine and claims the world’s sixth highest acreage of land under vine. California produces approximately 85% of all American wine, followed by Washington, New York, and Oregon. Compared with traditional wine-producing countries, the US has a large population, surpassing France in early 2011 to become the world’s largest wine consumer. Despite this, the US ranked only 62 nd in per capita consumption by 2016, with just 30% of the population identifying as wine drinkers. In 2019, the US experienced its first decline in wine consumption in 25 years, as the industry lost market share to fast-growing categories such as canned hard seltzers, spirits, and craft beer. Still, the US continues to provide the world’s most substantial market for fine wines. Further, over the past 20 years, powerful American critics have had a significant influence on winemakers and markets worldwide. History of Wine in America In the early eleventh century, the Viking Leif Eriksson brought his boat aground at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, becoming the first European to definitively set foot on the North American continent. He christened his discovery Vinland—possibly a reference to the meadows before him or, as recounted in the 13 th -century poem “ Saga of the Greenlanders, ” a tribute to the wealth of native grapevines. Unlike in South America, several species of wild grapevines awaited the first colonists of North America, including Vitis labrusca , Vitis rotundifolia , and Vitis aestivalis . Vitis vinifera , the source of fine wine grapes, unfortunately did not. Following Columbus’s journey in 1492 and the subsequent rush to explore and colonize the New World, European colonists attempted to produce wines from the native grapes but were generally repelled by the grapes’ inherently foxy odors and turned to imported vines. A 1619 Virginia law required every male colonist at Jamestown, the first successful English settlement on North American soil, to plant and tend at least 10 vines—the earliest record of vinifera vine plantings on the East Coast. This experiment, like many others along the Eastern seaboard, ended in failure as the European vines succumbed to new vine diseases and the phylloxera pest. Interest in winemaking in the British colonies of America dwindled; cider, beer, and whiskey became the alcoholic beverages of choice in the 18 th century. Thomas Jefferson, a gourmand devoted to the best wines of Bordeaux, showed relentless enthusiasm for wine, lingering on business in the Médoc on the very day in 1787 that the Constitutional Convention opened in Philadelphia. Jefferson viewed wine as a mark of genteel society, and “the only antidote to the bane of whiskey.” Jefferson planted vinifera at his Virginia estate, hoping that the young country could produce its own fine wine and assert its self-sufficiency in the process. Unfortunately, his efforts (along with those of George Washington) were met with continual failure, and more than 30 years of vineyard cultivation ended without a single bottle of wine. The Founding Fathers had to settle for the best of Europe, as Madeira, Sherry, and the wines of France graced state tables. Unbeknownst to them, Spanish settlers beyond the western frontier were achieving success with vinifera grapes. The Mission grape, introduced to Mexico in the early 1500s, made its way northward to Rio Grande settlements in present-day Texas and New Mexico as early as 1629. Franciscan monks brought the Mission grape to what would become the state of California and established vineyards at each of their historic missions along the West Coast. In 1783, Franciscans at the San Juan Capistrano Mission produced California’s first wine from the grape. In 1823, the Franciscans built the San Francisco de Solano Mission, the last of the missions and the northern terminus of the Spanish Empire in North America—a site now occupied by Sonoma’s town square. By 1839, George Yount had arrived in Napa as the first American settler to set foot in the valley and had planted its first vineyard. The annexation of California from Mexico in 1847 and the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 brought a wave of prospectors, American soldiers, and pioneers to the San Francisco Bay, and wine production increased correspondingly. The Hungarian-born, self-styled “Count” Agoston Haraszthy arrived in Sonoma in 1849, where he founded Buena Vista, one of California’s oldest commercial wineries. Dubbed the father of California wine, the colorful Haraszthy introduced more than 300 varieties to the state, collected as vine cuttings during his European travels. He is often credited with introducing Zinfandel in California, though this claim has been disproven. The mythology of the man—who is also reported to have operated the first commercial steamboat on the Mississippi, founded Wisconsin’s oldest incorporated town, and served as San Diego’s first town marshal—may greatly exceed the reality, but his story has become Californian wine legend. Fittingly, the legend ends with his spectacular demise in the jaws of alligators, deep within the jungles of Nicaragua. Credit: Brandon Lee Wise After working for Haraszthy, Charles Krug moved in 1861 to St. Helena in Napa Valley and founded his eponymous winery—the oldest in the valley. Jacob Schram built Schramsberg in 1862. Beringer, Napa’s oldest continuously operating winery, was established in 1876, and the Finnish immigrant Gustav Niebaum founded the legendary Inglenook Winery in 1880. By the last decade of the 19th century, Napa Valley had nearly 20,000 acres under vine; Sonoma Valley had over 22,000. The rising interest in Californian wine stood in stark contrast to the near total devastation of European vineyards due to phylloxera in the late 19th century, which in turn drove even more investment to the state. But California was not immune to phylloxera, which was discovered in Napa and Sonoma in the early 1870s. It wreaked havoc on the state’s vineyards throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Salvation for the decimated vines on both sides of the Atlantic came from the much maligned but phylloxera-resistant American vine species, particularly Vitis riparia and its hybrids. Since the late 19th century, Vitis vinifera vines throughout the world have generally been grafted on American rootstocks. While California’s pioneers built a foundation for a future in fine wine based on European varieties, American grapes and hybrids continued to populate the vineyards of the Eastern United States. Although French Huguenots and Dutch settlers experimented with winemaking in 17th-century New York, commercial winemaking can be traced to the 1840s, when Robert Prince produced wine from native grapes on Long Island. American nurseries began crossing vinifera vines with American species, hoping to produce a hardier vine that retained vinifera characteristics for superior wines. The Finger Lakes region in upstate New York was extensively planted with such hybrids from 1850 onward. Along with the native Concord, the American hybrids Catawba and Delaware dominated vineyards. The nation’s first bonded winery, Pleasant Valley Wine Company, was established in 1860 and is still operating today, near Hammondsport in the Finger Lakes. By the end of the 19th century, the Finger Lakes claimed over 24,000 acres under vine. Viticulture also thrived in Ohio: at the height of his winemaking career in the mid-19th century, Nicholas Longworth annually produced 150,000 bottles of traditional method, hand-riddled sparkling Catawba. In Missouri, German immigrants were by 1856 producing 100,000 gallons annually, and Stone Hill Winery in Hermann became the third largest winery in the world by the turn of the century. American grapevines and their hybrids were vitally important in Missouri. To this day, the Norton grape remains the pride of the state—connoisseurs of Norton can now enjoy their favorite Vitis aestivalis grape out of a Riedel glass commissioned especially for the wine. Charles Valentine Riley, a Missouri entomologist, earned his place in the history of wine for being the first to understand the innate resistance of American grape species to phylloxera. The French even erected a statue in Montpellier in his honor. In 1920, America’s young wine industry faced its greatest crisis: the “noble experiment” of Prohibition. Christian temperance movements gained power throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, resulting first in a series of state-level prohibitions—Maine outlawed the sale of alcohol in 1851, followed by Kansas in 1881—and culminating in the nationwide ban on the manufacture and sale of “intoxicating liquors” with the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. Prohibition led to a near-total shutdown of America’s wine industry, although a few wineries survived by producing still-legal Christian sacramental wines. The Frenchman Georges de Latour’s Beaulieu Vineyards actually thrived during the dry times, declaring itself the House of Altar Wine. The 21st Amendment, ratified in 1933, finally ended Prohibition, but American tastes (and winemakers’ skills) had atrophied. Sweet, fortified jug wine accounted for 81% of California’s production in 1935. Cheap, generic table wines sold under the guises of Burgundy, Chablis, Port, and Sherry flooded the American market in the decades after Prohibition ended. From the end of Prohibition through the early 1970s, America’s wine industry became truly industrial, as it focused on inexpensive, lower-quality wines for a generally uneducated domestic market. This period also marked a firm shift in the bulk of the industry to California. To Kalon Vineyard in Napa Valley (Photo credit: Shawn DeMartino) While the Italian-born Gallo Brothers were churning out oceans of cheap Thunderbird and Night Train Express from California’s Central Valley, a small core of wineries in Napa and Sonoma continued to pursue quality. In 1938, Georges de Latour hired André Tchelistcheff, a Russian winemaker trained in France, to oversee the production at Beaulieu. He introduced the Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a new benchmark in quality for American wine, and brought updated standards of hygiene and techniques to California, including temperature-controlled fermentations and controlled malolactic fermentation. Tchelistcheff mentored many of California’s young talents—including Robert Mondavi, Louis Martini, Joe Heitz, and Mike Grgich—who became industry giants and helped reshape the image of Napa and California wines in general. Prohibition survivors like Inglenook, Beringer, and Beaulieu in Napa were surpassed by ambitious new wineries of the next generation by the late 1960s. Following his departure from Charles Krug due to a family feud, Robert Mondavi, a man many credit with creating the “brand” of Napa Valley, launched his winery’s first harvest in 1966. In 1967, table wines surpassed fortified wines in domestic consumption for the first time. In 1968, Mondavi singlehandedly made Sauvignon Blanc saleable by renaming it Fumé Blanc and aging it in oak. By the mid-1970s, a segment of American wine consumers was maturing and started to look for wines tied to their region of origin. Unlike most European wines, the new breed of American fine wines were labeled by variety, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay emerging as the grapes of choice for Napa’s producers. The struggle to achieve higher quality was not limited to Napa: Hanzell, Martin Ray, and Simi were early modern pioneers in Sonoma, and winemaker Paul Draper in 1969 took over production of Monte Bello at Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The nearby Mount Eden Vineyards, originally established by Paul Masson in 1878, produced its first vintage under its new name in 1972. The first Chalone Vineyard bottling (Monterey’s oldest commercial vineyard) debuted in 1960. In 1970, disregarding much advice to the contrary, Richard Sanford planted Pinot Noir in his new Sanford & Benedict Vineyard in Santa Barbara’s Sta. Rita Hills . Interest in the winemaking tradition of nearby Paso Robles was slowly reviving. By the late 1970s, both Oregon and Washington had small, quality-conscious wine industries, and the Ukranian-born Dr. Konstantin Frank demonstrated in the face of tremendous skepticism that Vitis vinifera could grow successfully in the Finger Lakes. His Vinifera Wine Cellars, founded in 1962, received praise for its Riesling and sparkling wines and ignited a new interest in noble varieties in New York. In 1965, David Lett of the Eyrie Vineyards planted his first Pinot Noir grapes in the Willamette Valley, pioneering the varietal style for which the valley would become internationally known. America’s reputation for fine wine was slowly improving. In 1976, that reputation catapulted forward. Results of the 1976 Judgment of Paris, a blind tasting organized by a young Steven Spurrier, surprised the globe, as two Napa Valley wines—Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and Chateau Montelena Chardonnay—placed first in a blind tasting against a sampling of first and second growth Bordeaux, and premier cru and grand cru Burgundy, respectively. Boom times for Napa and for the California wine industry in general resulted, bringing foreign investment and heightening domestic interest. In 1978, a Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon was the first Napa Valley bottling to top the $100 mark at release. By 1991, California’s plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon reached 30,000 acres and its Chardonnay 50,000 acres. By the new millennium, total acreage for both grapes doubled. New wineries opened at a seemingly exponential rate as America’s wine country became associated with a lifestyle of luxury. The market—and the business of wine criticism—grew alongside them. Phylloxera recurred in California’s vineyards in the 1980s. In Napa alone, over half of the vineyards had to be torn out and replanted—a new opportunity for producers to reassess grapes and clonal selections for each site. The 1990s signaled a stylistic shift in California, as ripeness, body, and higher alcohol levels found champions among influential critics, and many producers adjusted both viticulture and winemaking decisions to support more weight and fruit. In Napa, a new wave of upstart cult producers, including Screaming Eagle, Colgin, and Harlan Estate, emerged with stratospheric price tags previously reserved for Europe’s most pedigreed wines. Lifestyle, aesthetic, and the inherent quality of wine became suddenly more difficult than ever to disentangle, as hundreds of new producers, devoid of history, followed their lead into the premium wine market. Though consumption patterns have dipped, Americans drank over 900 million gallons of wine in 2018 and lead the world in wine consumption. As viticultural science and techniques continue to improve, quality moves forward overall. Older winemaking areas have been refined or rediscovered, and the importance of matching grapes to appropriate sites is becoming clearer, leading to the exploration of new vineyard areas. Wine is now made in all 50 states, and the United States has become a world leader in production, consumption, and criticism of wine. Still, the American wine industry is not without its own crises. New rootstocks may keep phylloxera at bay in California, but it is a rising concern in Washington, where it is a slow but gradual threat, as many winegrowers still have ungrafted vineyards. The Pacific Northwest also struggles with red blotch as well as fungal trunk diseases. Throughout California, Pierce’s disease and red blotch cause serious alarm for growers. Furthermore, premiumization seems to have hit its ceiling in recent years, as the Millennial generation is not as enthused by or loyal to luxury brands. Millennials consume a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and have a rising interest in lower-alcohol alternatives and more eco-friendly packaging. Finally, the power of American critics like Robert Parker has engendered its own criticism, as some charge that the modern, ultra-ripe style prevalent among many American (and global) producers has evolved to win their praise. A rising number of apps and online forums have begun to put more weight and value in consumer-based reviews. BACK TO TOP The AVA System and Labeling Requirements Prior to the creation of American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), the only legal appellations for wine in the US were politically determined: the existing boundaries of states and counties. Although states and counties remain legal appellations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) in the late 1970s finalized a new system that would, in theory, demarcate appellations based on distinctive geographical, physical, and climatic features. The bureau approved America’s first AVA in Augusta, Missouri, in late 1980, and Napa Valley gained AVA status in 1981. Today, the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), a new federal bureau created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, oversees the AVA system. In 2007, the TTB suspended the entire process of new AVA approval in the midst of a controversial new proposal to create a Calistoga AVA within Napa Valley. The proposed AVA exposed a contentious disconnect between the rights of a brand and truth in appellation labeling, as two wineries—Calistoga Cellars and Calistoga Estates—did not use enough Calistoga fruit in their wines, and stood to lose their names if the TTB approved the AVA application. In late 2009, the TTB approved the AVA without grandfathering in either winery, setting an example for future label integrity. Legally, AVAs are only an indication of geographic origin and do not require producers to adhere to any additional guidelines in the vineyard or the winery. If a label lists an AVA, a minimum 85% of grapes used to produce the wine must have originated in the stated region. If producers choose to label their wines by county, state, or country instead, the minimum is lowered to 75%. California, Washington, and Oregon are exceptions: wines labeled as California or Oregon are required to be made solely from grapes grown in the state, whereas wines labeled as Washington must contain at least 95% of grapes grown in the state. Wines labeled by single vineyard contain a minimum 95% of grapes grown in the stated vineyard. Percentage of Grapes Required for Labeling by Appellation: If labeled by country, state, or county: 75% If labeled by AVA: 85% If labeled with a single vineyard: 95% For wines labeled with an AVA, a minimum 95% must come from the stated vintage; for wines labeled with a state or county, the minimum is relaxed to 85%. Wine with a varietal designation must contain a minimum 75% of the stated variety— Vitis labrusca grapes, like Concord, are an exception, and need only comprise a minimum 51% of a varietal wine. Alcohol content must be stated on the label, within a margin of plus or minus 1.5%. As an alternative, wines in the 7 to 14% ABV range may simply be labeled as table wine or light wine . Labels must also include a government health warning and the phrase contains sulfites , provided sulfites are present in a concentration of 10 parts per million or more. All wines must declare the name and address of the bottler. In order to legally qualify for the term estate bottled , 100% of a wine must come from grapes grown on land owned or controlled by the winery. In addition, the winery and all vineyards used in the production of an estate-bottled wine must be located within the same AVA. The 394,088-acre Northern Sonoma AVA, which includes large swaths of most of the county’s northern AVAs, was proposed by Gallo of Sonoma, which may now blend across pre-existing AVA boundaries for its estate-bottled wines. BACK TO TOP California Much of California is well suited to grapegrowing, experiencing ample sunshine, mild winters, and generally low humidity, which prevents high disease pressure. The main grapegrowing regions lie in the central and coastal area of the state, as the most northerly section can get too cool and the interior too hot. The major winegrowing regions of California are divided into five large AVAs: North Coast, Central Coast, South Coast, San Francisco Bay, and the Sierra Foothills. California's AVAs; click to enlarge and zoom in (Credit: California Wine Institute) Defined loosely by geology and climate, these AVAs ultimately serve to allow smaller AVAs that are further apart to be blended and still have a qualifying AVA with a general sense of origin. Each of these includes a number of smaller AVAs—for example, Napa Valley AVA and Sonoma Valley AVA are both located within the North Coast AVA. Most of the fine wine districts are located near the coast, where fog and cool sea breezes mitigate temperatures and create a large diurnal swing from warm days to cool nights. The South Coast AVA, which covers land in the counties stretching from Los Angeles to San Diego, has made little impact in terms of fine wine production. The inland Central Valley, source of 75% of the state’s wine, is not considered an AVA. California produces a wide range of varietal wines, led by Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc enjoy extensive plantings. French Colombard and Chenin Blanc both occupy thousands of acres, but they are mostly confined to the Central Valley, where they produce bulk wine for blends. Curious producers throughout California continue to experiment with new varieties, and one is likely to find just about anything bottled as a varietal wine in California, from the more routine Gewürztraminer, Viognier, Petit Sirah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre to the occasional Tempranillo, Vermentino, Grüner Veltliner, Valdiguié, Graciano, and Nebbiolo. Meritage , a term trademarked by the Meritage Alliance, is used by producers to indicate a premium blend in which no grape accounts for more than 90% of the wine. Meritage wines may be red or white, but must be produced from Bordeaux varieties. Zinfandel, thought to be California’s native son before Carole Meredith, an American grape geneticist, produced research definitively linking it to Croatia’s Crljenak Kastelanski, dominated the vineyards of California in the late 19th century but fell out of favor, losing ground to the classic noble varieties of Europe. Regardless of its Croatian origins, many producers champion Zinfandel as a uniquely American wine style and covet old vine plantings for their concentration and character. Some of the oldest vineyards in California are planted to the grape and were spared, ironically, by the success of White Zinfandel in the 1980s. Other grapes popular in the field blends of years past have receded in acreage, like Charbono, Carignan, and the teinturier grape Alicante Bouschet. The North Coast California’s North Coast is the epicenter of fine wine production in the US. The North Coast AVA includes the counties of Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Solano, and Marin. Napa County, home of Napa Valley AVA , is California’s preeminent fine wine region and the birthplace of a classic style of American Cabernet Sauvignon. Approximately 4% of California’s vineyard acreage is in Napa Valley, and it encompasses 17 sub-AVAs, named for the surrounding mountains and towns of the valley. The Napa Valley itself stretches northward from the San Pablo Bay past the principal towns of Napa and St. Helena to Calistoga, with its width narrowing—from five miles wide at the town of Napa to one at Calistoga—and temperatures warming perceptibly as one travels north. Cool ocean air funnels through the Petaluma Gap into the San Pablo Bay and upward through the valley. Carneros , the southernmost AVA within Napa, is suitable for the production of sparkling wines, whereas Calistoga , the northernmost AVA, routinely sees daytime summer temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and producers focus on sturdier grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. Altitude also has a major effect on temperature—Napa Valley’s vineyards stretch from 0 to over 2,000 feet above sea level. The valley is formed by the Mayacamas Mountains to the west, which mark the border with Sonoma County, and the Vaca Mountains on the east. It has a remarkable diversity of volcanic, alluvial, and maritime soil types, ranging from well-drained gravel loam, to dense clays, to the thin, rocky soils of the hillside vineyards. Napa Valley AVAs (Click to enlarge and zoom in) Cabernet Sauvignon mountain fruit from Napa’s sun-drenched hillside vineyards and mountainside AVAs is prized for its density, dark fruit, and concentration, as these regions typically yield smaller berries with higher acid due to cool temperatures. Mountain appellations include Mount Veeder , Diamond Mountain District , and Spring Mountain District to the west, and Atlas Peak , Crystal Springs of Napa Valley, and Howell Mountain to the east. Howell Mountain is the wettest and coolest of the mountain appellations and the first sub-appellation wholly within Napa Valley to receive its own AVA. Its high-altitude, west-facing vineyards produce benchmark mountain wines. This is the only appellation that is elevation specific, beginning at 1,400 feet. Erosion is a serious concern for Napa’s hillside growers, as heavy winter rains can literally wash away a vineyard’s entire topsoil, leaving nothing but hard bedrock behind. Valley floor topsoil is deeper, and valley fruit tends to produce a more elegant and supple style of Cabernet, with less intensity of color. Appellations here include Yountville , Oakville , Stags Leap District , Calistoga , St. Helena , and Rutherford . Rutherford AVA, known for its “Rutherford dust,” exemplifies the valley floor style, as it is home to a unique microclimate and set of soils that result in wines with a firm tannin profile. Chardonnay from Napa Valley has historically been opulent, weighty, buttery, and oak driven, although some producers are shifting to lighter styles, sometimes foregoing malolactic or barrel fermentation altogether. Other grapes grown in the valley include Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Sangiovese, and Pinot Noir. In Carneros, Pinot Noir is heavily planted for sparkling and still wine production. To the west of Napa, Sonoma County includes over 50 miles of coastline, separated by a ridge that helps protect many of its more coastal vineyards from temperatures that would render it too difficult to grow grapes. Sonoma is responsible for 6% of California wine production. While red grapes lead, Chardonnay is the most planted variety overall at over 16,000 acres. Sonoma County contains 19 AVAs: Alexander Valley , Dry Creek Valley , Rockpile , Bennett Valley , Knights Valley , Chalk Hill , Russian River Valley , Sonoma Valley , Moon Mountain District Sonoma County , Green Valley of Russian River Valley , Sonoma Mountain , Sonoma Coast , West Sonoma Coast , Northern Sonoma , Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak , Fort Ross-Seaview , Fountaingrove District , Petaluma Gap , and most of the Carneros AVA , which extends from Napa into the extreme south of the county. From 2011 forward, all wines produced in the county are required to state Sonoma County on the label, regardless of whether or not the label also indicates an AVA. Sonoma County AVAs (Click to enlarge and zoom in) Sonoma County AVAs cover a much larger area than the AVAs of Napa, and there is a wide variation in climate and soil throughout the county. The windy, foggy Carneros AVA is a cool area, classified as Region I on the Winkler Index, whereas the warm northern AVAs of Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley are considered Region III. The coolest temperatures can be found in the northern stretches of the Sonoma Coast AVA , where altitude, cold ocean air, and persistent coastal fog combine to keep temperatures down. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay thrive, along with cool-climate renditions of Rhône varieties. However, as the Sonoma Coast AVA contains nearly 500,000 acres, the more inland and southern areas within it can experience a warmer Region II climate, and even the true coastal vineyards, if above the marine fog layer, may produce bold wines of concentration and power rather than elegance and focus. In regards to defining the true coast, The West Sonoma Coast AVA was approved in 2022. This AVA hugs 141,846 acres along the coast from the southern border of Mendocino to the town of Bodega Bay. The Russian River Valley AVA , which follows the river southwest from the town of Healdsburg, is also highly regarded for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay made in fruity, forward styles, yet the appellation’s more moderate climate may ultimately prove most hospitable to Rhône grapes and Zinfandel. Fertile alluvial soils, such as Goldridge sandy loam, characterize the valley. Green Valley is not merely a subregion of Russian River Valley but also its own unique AVA, distinct for its cool temperatures, Goldridge soil, and morning fog layer. Since Green Valley is a nested AVA within Russian River Valley , producers may label their wines Green Valley or Russian River Valley ; they often choose the latter in warmer vintages. Coastal producers of note include Hirsch, Marcassin, and Peay. Dehlinger, Joseph Swan, Rochioli, and Williams-Selyem are prominent names in Russian River Valley. Kosta Browne, Freeman, and sparkling wine producer Iron Horse are all Green Valley-based estates. The northern AVAs of Alexander Valley , Dry Creek Valley , Rockpile , and Knights Valley , are located to the north and east of Healdsburg. They have warmer Region III climates— Knights Valley is the warmest AVA in the county. Bordeaux grape varieties, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, are most prominent in the gravelly soils of Alexander Valley and Knights Valley . Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon tends to show a more herbaceous character and less body than its Napa counterparts, but Knights Valley wines, such as Peter Michael’s Les Pavots, can be very similar in style. Dry Creek Valley and the small Rockpile AVA are known for ripe, powerful styles of Zinfandel, aged in either American or French oak. In the southern sector of the county, Sonoma Valley AVA , the county’s most established region, is situated between the Mayacamas and Sonoma Mountains and runs nearly parallel to Napa Valley. Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon are successful in the region. Like Napa, Sonoma Valley’s temperature gets progressively warmer as one travels north, although Bennett Valley, a nested AVA in the northwestern sector of the valley, favors Merlot, as it is too cool to routinely ripen Cabernet Sauvignon. The cool, windswept hills of Carneros form the valley’s southern extremity at the San Pablo Bay. The Champagne house of Taittinger and the Cava producer Codorníu both set up American sparkling wine estates in Carneros in the 1980s, following the pioneering example of Gloria Ferrer. The Petaluma Gap AVA was designated in late 2017. Named after the wind that funnels through lower Sonoma County due to a coastal mountain opening stretching from the Pacific to Petaluma and veering south toward San Pablo Bay, the AVA is marked by its wind and fog. Cool climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah are its main focus. North of Sonoma County, Mendocino’s best winegrowing regions are centered at the confluence of the Russian and Navarro Rivers in the southern portion of the county. The Mendocino AVA, which has stricter boundaries than the county appellation, lines both rivers and encompasses the AVAs of Anderson Valley, Potter Valley, Redwood Valley, McDowell Valley, Yorkville Highlands, Cole Ranch, and a portion of Mendocino Ridge. Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak , which extends north of the Sonoma County border into Mendocino, is not included within it. Nor are two small, secluded AVAs in the northern sector of the county, Dos Rios and Covelo. In 2014, the Mendocino AVA decreased in size—a rare move—so that its boundaries would not overlap those of a new AVA approved in the same year, Eagle Peak Mendocino County. Cole Ranch, the smallest AVA in California, has a single vineyard, Cole Ranch, and McDowell Valley is essentially a monopole AVA of McDowell Valley Vineyards. Anderson Valley offers one of California’s coolest climates, as ocean air and fog trail inland along the path of the Navarro River, framed by steep hills. As testament to the Anderson Valley’s cool, marginal climate, the Champagne house of Louis Roederer established its American operations there rather than in Carneros, where many competitors landed, and today produces one of the more elegant styles of sparkling wine in California. In addition to the classic sparkling varieties, Riesling and Gewürztraminer perform well here. The inland areas of Mendocino AVA, particularly around Ukiah, are noticeably hotter. Mendocino Ridge AVA stretches southward from the Navarro River along the coast, but the appellation is restricted to vineyards that are at least 1,200 feet above sea level. Zinfandel thrives in the sun above the fog line. To the east of Mendocino, Lake County is the smallest wine-producing county in the North Coast. High elevations and cold winters allow for successful grapegrowing despite hot summers. Lake County has nine AVAs, the most prominent of which is Clear Lake. Despite its inland location, Clear Lake helps to buffer hot temperatures. This, coupled with beneficial diurnal swings, results in grapes with higher acid retention. The Central Coast California’s Central Coast AVA spans the entirety of California’s coastline from San Francisco Bay in the north to Santa Barbara County in the south. Directly east and south of the San Francisco Bay are the AVAs of Livermore Valley, Santa Cruz Mountains, Ben Lomond Mountain, Santa Clara Valley, San Ysidro District, Contra Costa and the sprawling San Francisco Bay AVA itself. Immediately south of the city of San Francisco, the large Santa Cruz Mountains AVA provides a cool coastal climate, where high-altitude vineyards are interspersed between miles of redwood forest. Ridge’s Monte Bello Vineyard and the original Bonny Doon Estate Vineyard, an eventual victim of Pierce’s disease, are among the Santa Cruz Mountains’ most celebrated parcels. The warm inland Livermore Valley achieves success with Sauvignon Blanc; Wente is the most notable producer within the appellation. Despite the inclusion of Santa Cruz County in the Central Coast AVA, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA is excluded. South of San Francisco Bay is Monterey County, home to Carmel Valley and Salinas Valley, the “lettuce capital of the world.” In the wake of Napa’s success, Monterey AVA was extensively planted with vines. Here, a gap in the mountains that runs perpendicular to the coast (west to east) allows warm air at the southwestern end of the valley to pull in the cool ocean air downstream. Although the region, boasting one of California’s longest growing seasons, seemed promising, much of its output had ended up in bulk blends from the Central Valley. Chardonnay leads here, accounting for about 40% of plantings in Monterey AVA. Pinot Noir is highlighted in Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, home to Garys’ Vineyard, and also in Mount Harlan AVA, within San Benito County, in the Gabilan mountain range to the east, where Calera produces acclaimed wines from the grape. Chalone AVA, an appellation dominated by the producer of the same name in Monterey, lies to the south in the same range. In 2022, Gabilan Mountains AVA was established and encompasses both Mount Harlan AVA and Chalone AVA. The San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties are south of Monterey. San Luis Obispo’s Paso Robles AVA is a giant appellation covering 614,000 acres (40,000 of which are planted) with wide variations in climate and soil—the principal rationale for the creation of 11 new AVAs in 2014. Broadly, the western reaches are characterized by cooler marine air funneled through the Templeton Gap and more prevalent limestone and calcareous soils. East of the Salinas River, the soil structure is sandier, and the climate in general is warmer and more arid. Zinfandel has a long history in Paso Robles, and Cabernet Sauvignon became increasingly important as the area saw an infusion of large-scale wineries in the 1980s. Rhône varieties are growing in importance. Gary Eberle planted California’s first commercial Syrah vines in Paso Robles, and the nursery at Tablas Creek, a project owned in part by Château Beaucastel, provided clonal material from the Rhône Valley to interested producers across the state. Hospices du Rhône, the world’s largest Rhône wine celebration, is held annually in the area. Other AVAs in San Luis Obispo County include York Mountain, Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo Coast, and Edna Valley—the last of these offering a cool coastal climate appropriate for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. At Point Conception in Santa Barbara County , California’s coastline sharply bends, trending east-west rather than north-south. Santa Barbara’s valleys, including the Santa Maria Valley AVA and the Santa Ynez Valley AVA , trail from east to west through the San Rafael and Santa Ynez Mountains, parallel to the coastline. The AVAs of Sta. Rita Hill s, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara , Ballard Canyon , and Los Olivos District are located within the Santa Ynez Valley . Alisos Canyon , is a standalone AVA nestled in between the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Valleys. In early 2006, a legal dispute with the Chilean winery of the same name led Sta. Rita Hills to legally abbreviate its appellation name. Despite a lengthy history of viticulture—Santa Barbara is the site of one of California’s original missions—interest in winemaking has only taken off in the last several decades, reinvigorated by the success of Richard Sanford’s original vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills. The giant Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley AVA was planted to premium varieties, principally Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, in the mid-1970s, not long after Sanford & Benedict was established. Santa Barbara County’s Region I maritime climate and lengthy growing season—the longest in California—is lauded for cultivation of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Rhône varieties. Public awareness of Santa Barbara wines, and of Pinot Noir in general, skyrocketed in the wake of Alexander Payne’s 2004 film Sideways , a paean to the region and the grape. The Central Valley and Sierra Foothills The bulk of California’s wine is produced in the state’s vast, hot Central Valley, an extensively irrigated agricultural area divided between the northern Sacramento Valley and the southern San Joaquin Valley—the latter with over 100,000 acres under vine. The Central Valley is generally divided between Region IV and Region V heat summation zones, temperatures most suitable for fortified wines, table grapes, and raisins. Gallo, the second-largest producer in the world, is headquartered in Modesto, and half of the Central Valley’s wine is produced by its facilities. As evidenced by the wines of Gallo and other Central Valley giants, including Franzia (owned by the Wine Group) and Bronco Wine Company, most Central Valley production is of bulk wine quality—low in cost and low on character of site. Thus, despite its extensive area and huge production, the Central Valley has relatively few AVAs. The largest and most important Central Valley AVA is Lodi, home to over 20% of California’s total wine grape production. Located just south of Sacramento on the eastern edge of the Sacramento River Delta, Lodi is slightly cooler than much of the Central Valley due to the influence of a gap in the coastal ranges that pulls coastal air inland from the San Francisco Bay and over the delta. This area can experience diurnal shifts as great as 45 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing for refreshing acidities and bright fruit development. Lodi is home to large, value-oriented brands such as Sutter Home and Robert Mondavi Woodbridge as well as small boutique wineries, many of them specializing in old vine Zinfandel production. Lodi includes seven AVA sub-appellations: Alta Mesa, Borden Ranch, Mokelumne River, Cosumnes River, Jahant, Sloughhouse, and Clements Hills. Other AVAs of note in the Central Valley include Dunnigan Hills, Clarksburg, Capay Valley, and Merritt Island. The Sierra Foothills AVA is located to the east of Sacramento and Lodi, on the western edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the heart of California’s 19th-century gold rush territory. The fragmented region is divided into several sub-AVAs: Fair Play, El Dorado, Fiddletown, North Yuba, and California Shenandoah Valley. Temperature is dependent on altitude; the lowest and hottest vineyards are located in Shenandoah. Chewy, spicy, concentrated Zinfandel, sometimes sourced from vines dating back to before Prohibition, is the Sierra Foothills’ most acclaimed style. The University of California at Davis, located just west of Sacramento, has been a guiding light for California’s wine producers and home to one of the world’s most highly regarded institutes of viticulture and oenology. Many of America’s winemakers are graduates of its programs, and UC–Davis’s impact on winemaking and viticultural practices in the US cannot be underestimated—but not all of the influence has been positive. When phylloxera struck California in the 1980s, it attacked the now-infamous AXR-1 rootstock, a supposedly resistant rootstock supplied to the state’s growers by Davis. Officially, the institution deemed phylloxera to have mutated. Larger criticisms levied at UC–Davis by some question its role in the modernization, standardization, and manipulation of viticulture and wine. BACK TO TOP Washington Despite a relatively short history of viticulture, Washington has emerged as the nation’s second largest producer of premium wines, accounting for approximately 5% of total production. Most of the state’s wine regions, and over 99% of its vineyards, are located east of the Cascade Mountains, where the mountains’ rain shadow effect turns the land arid and necessitates irrigation. Rainfall here averages 6 to 12 inches a year. Eastern Washington experiences a true continental climate, with hot summers and cold winters: frost and winter freezes are serious concerns for growers, but ripeness is easily achieved in the state's warm growing seasons. Sunlight is an ally, too, as Washington’s vineyards receive additional summer sunshine hours in accordance with its northerly latitude. Generally, the bedrock east of the Cascades is basalt, overlaid by sediments deposited by the Missoula Floods, a catastrophic cycle of massive floods that occurred repeatedly at the end of the last ice age, some 12,000 to 18,000 years ago. Vineyards in eastern Washington are thus typically planted on sandy or silty loam soils derived from the flood-borne sediments. Despite broad similarities in climate and soil, however, eastern Washington's vineyards tend to be spread out, with great distances between large vineyard plots. Columbia Valley AVA is the largest appellation in the state, covering 11 million acres—over one-quarter of Washington’s landmass. It follows the outline of the Columbia River Basin and dips across the Oregon border. Most of Washington's other significant AVAs, including Yakima Valley , Walla Walla Valley , and Horse Heaven Hills , are nested within its borders. Washington State AVAs (Click to enlarge and zoom in) Yakima Valley was approved as Washington’s first AVA in 1983. It contains over one-third of the state’s vineyards, and it also has five nested AVAs: Snipes Mountain , Rattlesnake Hills , Red Mountain, Candy Mountain , and Goose Gap . Rattlesnake offers higher elevation vineyards ranging from 850 to over 3,000 feet and planted along ridges and terraces. Here, Merlot is the most planted variety, followed by Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon. Unique soils and a plethora of varieties (over 30) characterize Snipes Mountain . Red Mountain , which despite its name is more a steep southwest-facing slope than an actual mountain, is desert-like in climate, receiving five inches of rainfall on average per year. Red Mountain is Washington's warmest growing region as well as its most densely planted AVA. It has developed a reputation for noteworthy, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon. Along the Oregon border southeast of Yakima Valley and Red Mountain sits Walla Walla Valley , a shared AVA between the two states, which has emerged in this century as a prestige region. Here, soils consist of basalt bedrock and thin alluvial topsoil deposited by the Missoula Floods, and loess is everywhere. Vineyards are a small but growing segment of the valley's agricultural sector: vineyard acreage expanded from 450 acres to over 1,600 in the first decade of the 21st century and is now closer to 3,000 acres. The AVA’s reputation for premium red wine is growing, too. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah are Walla Walla's most acclaimed varieties, comprising over 80% of its current plantings. Historically, white grapes, led by Chardonnay and Riesling—which has achieved more success in this state than elsewhere in the country—dominated viticulture, but by the early 2010s, red varieties had surpassed them in total acreage, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot the state's two most planted varieties. Merlot shows a distinctively full, sweet, and luscious character, but most producers believe that the future here is in great Cabernet Sauvignon. Other important commercial grapes include Syrah, Gewürztraminer, Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Franc. Over 1,000 bonded wineries are currently in business in Washington. BACK TO TOP Oregon While Oregon is primarily regarded for its Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, there are a few other noteworthy wine regions. On the northern boundary with Washington, east of Portland, there are four AVAs: the shared AVAs of Columbia Gorge, Columbia Valley, and Walla Walla Valley, and The Rocks of Milton-Freewater AVA, which sits on an old riverbed within Walla Walla Valley, entirely on the Oregon side. This AVA, established in 2015, earned its name for a topsoil of basalt cobblestones that draws comparisons to the galets of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Producers are just beginning to explore the potential here for Rhône-style wines. On the extreme eastern side of the state, a single vineyard is planted on the Oregon side of Idaho’s arid Snake River Valley AVA. Finally, Southern Oregon is steadily growing in size and stature, celebrating diversity among grapes and styles. Oregon’s Willamette Valley , which stretches 120 miles southward from Portland, between the Cascades and the Oregon Coast Range (Coastal Range), is synonymous with quality Pinot Noir production. David Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards and Charles Coury of Charles Coury Vineyards were the first to explore its potential, traveling northward from California to plant Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley in the mid-1960s. Dick Erath, Dick Ponzi, and others followed not long after. Lett’s 1975 South Block Reserve Pinot Noir achieved outstanding results in a French competition and brought vindication to the efforts of these early trailblazers. Soon after, in 1987, the Burgundy négociant Maison Joseph Drouhin purchased a Dundee Hills property, further validating the up-and-coming region. Today, the valley’s Pinot Noir wines are a steppingstone between California and the Côte d’Or: lighter in style and earthier than the former, riper and more forward than the latter. The cool, temperate climate of the valley invites further comparisons to Burgundy, and vintages are more variable than in Sonoma or Santa Barbara. Oregon AVAs (Click to enlarge and zoom in) In the mid-2000s, efforts to understand differences from site to site in the Willamette Valley resulted in the creation of six smaller AVAs within it: Dundee Hills , Eola-Amity Hills , Ribbon Ridge , McMinnville , Yamhill-Carlton District , and Chehalem Mountains . Five new nested AVAs were created more recently, bringing the total number of sub-AVAs to eleven: the Van Duzer Corridor AVA was approved in 2019, followed by the Laurelwood District and Tualatin Hills AVAs in 2020, Lower Long Tom in 2021, and Mount Pisgah Polk County Oregon in 2022. With these new divisions, winemakers could more closely explore (and identify with) different elevations and soil structures in the valley. For instance, Jory, a well-drained soil series of volcanic origin, is common in the "red hills" of the Dundee Hills AVA , while marine sedimentary soils like Willakenzie are more prominent on the valley's westernmost slopes, such as in Ribbon Ridge . As tasters often ascribe a denser style of wine and darker fruit to Willakenzie soils and more elegance to Jory, style profiles for the AVAs themselves are beginning to emerge. Climatic influences vary from one nested AVA to the next as well. Pacific winds funneling through the Van Duzer Corridor, a gap in the Coastal Mountains that separates the valley from the ocean, directly impact McMinnville and the Eola-Amity Hills , generating more tannic styles of Pinot Noir. The Chehalem Mountains AVA , on the other hand, has a number of north-facing vineyards that are among the valley's coolest sites. In the US, it is rare to have a winegrowing area like this, where all of these subtle differences can be viewed largely through the prism of one variety—Pinot Noir. It is the only red variety of any consequence in the Willamette Valley, but there are significant plantings of white grapes, including Pinot Gris (vinified in dry and off-dry styles), Chardonnay, and Riesling. While the Willamette Valley connects Portland in the north with Eugene, the Southern Oregon AVA stretches from just south of Eugene to the California border, encompassing the AVAs of the Umpqua Valley, Elkton Oregon, Rogue Valley, Applegate Valley, and Red Hill Douglas County. A wide range of varieties is planted throughout Southern Oregon, including Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, and Chardonnay. Applegate Valley AVA is the warmest and driest growing region west of the Cascades in Oregon. Overall, Southern Oregon is still an underdeveloped wine region, lacking a nearby large market like Portland or San Francisco to drive interest and investment. Varietal wines from Oregon—excluding those produced from white and red Bordeaux varieties, major Rhône grapes, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Tannat, and Tempranillo—must contain a minimum 90% of the stated variety rather than the standard 75%. Oregon also maintains stricter state laws for labeling by region: a wine labeled by an AVA within Oregon must contain a minimum 95% of grapes grown in the respective appellation, rather than the 85% mandated by federal law. BACK TO TOP New York New York has the nation’s third largest vineyard area and is the third largest wine-producing state by volume, but the bulk of its grapes are harvested for purposes other than wine. The state’s most planted variety, Concord, composes about 19,000 of New York’s 33,000 vine acres, and only a third of it goes toward wine production. The rest is sold to large jam and juice companies, such as Welch’s, or consumed as table grapes. What is made into wine is typically sweet and inexpensive. Two large Kosher sacramental wineries, Manischewitz and Mogen David, make their wines from New York Concord. Hybrid varieties such as Concord have dominated New York grape plantings since the industry’s modern inception in the early 19th century. Vinifera varieties struggle during New York’s punishing winters, experienced dramatically at its more interior regions. The perennial threats of spring and autumn frost cause dramatic losses for vinifera in periodic vintages, and the potential for winter freeze leads many winegrowers to bury their vineyards in the coldest months to avoid vine death. Several American grape species, such as Vitis labrusca and Vitis aestivalis , are native to the New York area and naturally adapted to the harsh winter climate. Such qualities are harnessed in the breeding of French-American hybrids, which are generally winter hardy, allowing for a more reliable crop than vinifera—especially before the advent of more contemporary protective viticultural practices. Dr. Konstantin Frank of Vinifera Wine Cellars was key to the development of New York’s wine industry, helping advance New York wine to meet modern palates. Beginning in the 1950s, Frank worked to understand the potential for vinifera in the Finger Lakes and champion the state’s now-signature variety, Riesling. Historically, many wine critics looked down on hybrid varieties, often referencing an unpalatable grapey or musky character, termed as foxy. Today, winegrowers and drinkers are rediscovering the potential of French-American hybrids. Many contemporary examples from grapes such as Baco Noir, Seyval Blanc, Vidal, Cayuga, and Catawba demonstrate impressive quality and personalities distinct from vinifera wines. New York AVAs; click to enlarge and zoom in (Credit: New York Wine & Grape Foundation ) Located near Rochester in central-western New York, the Finger Lakes AVA bottles 90% of the state’s wines. The region is named for the series of 11 narrow, roughly parallel lakes that define the region. These so-called fingers were cut by retreating glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. Hugging the banks of the Finger Lakes, vineyards benefit from the lake effect, in which the water moderates temperatures, cooling the vines in the warmer months and warming them during the winter. Lake Ontario, located due north, has a similar effect on the area more broadly. The two deepest Finger Lakes, Seneca Lake and Cayuga , have their own AVAs. The Finger Lakes has been New York’s leading wine region since the mid-19th century. Finger Lakes wineries of the mid-to-late 1800s focused on white and sparkling wines from French-American hybrids. Today, Riesling is the region’s flagship grape. It is made across the sweetness spectrum and, at its best, can challenge German examples in its complexity. Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and even a small amount of Merlot have also found success in the Finger Lakes. The sandy Long Island AVA stretches across the land mass of the same name, located east of New York City and separated from Connecticut by the Long Island Sound. Here, the climate is warmer than elsewhere in New York, allowing for the cultivation of Bordeaux varieties, such as Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, as well as Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling. As with the Finger Lakes, the Atlantic Ocean moderates temperatures to ward off frost. It also cools the vines during the hotter summers and barricades against warm southerly currents. The top vineyards are largely concentrated on the island’s eastern half. At its end, the island splits into two narrow forks, each with its own AVA: t he North Fork of Long Island AVA and the Hamptons, Long Island AVA . The Hudson River Region AVA is similarly influenced by the Atlantic. It follows the southern course of the Hudson River, from Columbia to Westchester counties, just above New York City. The towering Hudson River Palisades channel Atlantic breezes north, resulting in a cool climate that is often inhospitable to vinifera. Accordingly, the region is largely planted to hybrids, though some quality Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc are found. Notably, the Hudson River Region houses the United States’ oldest continually operating winery, Brotherhood Winery, founded in 1839. North of Albany, the more recent Upper Hudson AVA also focuses on hybrid varieties, as does the cold and sparsely planted Champlain Valley AVA , located in the northeastern corner of the state on the shores of Lake Champlain at the Vermont border. In the far west of New York, the Niagara Escarpment AVA traces the same limestone formation that extends into Canada’s Niagara Peninsula. Moderated by Lake Ontario, the Niagara Escarpment AVA is also recognized for its Icewines, many produced from Vidal. The Lake Erie AVA , just southwest, is the land of Concord. This “grape belt” appellation, the largest vineyard area outside California, is shared with Ohio and Pennsylvania and better known for jelly and juice than for wine. BACK TO TOP Other Winemaking Areas of the US Although wine is produced in all 50 states, beyond the above major commercial areas of production, most is sold and consumed locally. Texas has eight viticultural areas, including the sprawling nine-million-acre Texas Hill Country AVA. New Jersey, Virginia , Missouri, Michigan , Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina, Colorado, and Idaho all support small but substantial wine industries. Quality and variety can sometimes be surprising. There are, for example, good renditions of sparkling wine from New Mexico, Virginia Nebbiolo, Texas Tempranillo, and Michigan Riesling. The Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA, spanning nearly 30,000 square miles in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois, became America’s largest demarcated appellation with its formal approval in 2009. Back to Top Canada Canada’s modern history of winemaking begins in the early 19th century, but Vitis vinifera vines were not planted on a commercial scale until the 1970s. In the 1950s and 1960s, growers began moving away from traditional North American varieties like Concord and Niagara to French hybrids. De Chaunac, a red French hybrid developed by Albert Seibel but introduced to Canada after World War II by Adhemar de Chaunac, became one of Canada’s most planted varieties by the 1970s. De Chaunac ended the reliance of his employer, Ontario’s Brights Wines, on native grapes and introduced a number of other hybrids from his native France, including Baco Noir, Rosette, and Maréchal Foch. In 1951, he oversaw the successful introduction of 10 acres of Chardonnay at Brights, predating Dr. Konstantin Frank’s achievement in New York by just a few years. Brights Wines’ experimental vineyards of vinifera vines remained a small project, as French hybrids quickly came to dominate the Canadian wine landscape. Like the US, Canada suffered through Prohibition in the early 20th century, albeit on a provincial rather than national scale. Ontario and Nova Scotia were the last winemaking provinces to repeal Prohibition, in 1927 and 1929. While the wine industry was starting to transform itself through the introduction of French hybrids in the decades after Prohibition, it was also undergoing a period of consolidation. A moratorium was placed on new winery licenses, and larger wineries like Brights swallowed up the smaller producers who struggled through Prohibition. By 1974, only six wineries remained in business in the country. However, the end of the moratorium in 1974 signaled the beginning of a new era of small premium production and vinifera wines, with the founding of Inniskillin in Niagara-on-the-Lake. In the next several decades, Inniskillin would almost singlehandedly create an international reputation for Canadian icewine. Although good icewine can be fashioned from Vidal—the only French hybrid allowed for VQA Icewine—Inniskillin produced its most noteworthy wines from European grapes like Riesling and Cabernet Franc. In 1988, Canada signed a free trade agreement with the US, which required Canadian producers to refocus on quality in order to compete in their own domestic market and, when coupled with a government-sponsored vine-pull scheme, led to an even larger share in the vineyard for vinifera grapes. In the same year, an appellation and quality control system known as the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) was launched in Ontario. British Columbia established its VQA standards in 1990. Ontario and British Columbia, respectively Canada’s first and second most important wine regions, are the only areas with VQA status today. VQA standards are legally enforced in Ontario but voluntary in British Columbia. Approved bottlings will always carry the stylized VQA logo. VQA wines from Ontario or British Columbia must be made from 100% of grapes grown in the respective province. If labeled with a more precise appellation, British Columbia VQA wines must contain a minimum 95% of grapes grown in the stated appellation, whereas Ontario VQA wines require 85% for appellations and regional appellations, and 100% for sub-appellations (in Niagara Peninsula). To be labeled with a single vineyard in either province, a VQA wine must solely contain grapes grown in the stated vineyard. With the exception of sparkling wines, all Ontario VQA wines must be labeled with a vintage date and contain a minimum 85% of grapes harvested in that year. For British Columbia VQA vintage-dated wines, the minimum requirement is also set at 85%. Varietal wines from both regions must contain a minimum 85% of the stated variety. Only certain varieties (including a select few French hybrids) are authorized for production. VQA standards set limits on chaptalization (it is not authorized for the production of late-harvest wines or icewine), acidification, must weights, and other technical aspects of winemaking. Back to Top Ontario Ontario , Canada’s largest producer with approximately 15,000 acres devoted to vinifera grapes, is divided into three main appellations, or VQA Designated Viticultural Areas (DVAs): the Niagara Peninsula , Lake Erie North Shore , and Prince Edward County . A fourth appellation, Pelee Island (Canada’s southernmost point and smallest viticultural area, situated several miles off the shoreline of Lake Erie), existed until 2013, when it was formally deregulated. In 2016, this area was included in the South Islands sub-appellation within the Lake Erie North Shore DVA. All of Ontario’s appellations are located between 41 and 44 degrees latitude, where the cool continental climate is mitigated by the lake effect of the Great Lakes, although the effect dissipates quickly as one travels away from the coast. The Niagara Peninsula is the largest viticultural area and is subdivided into three regional appellations: Niagara Escarpment, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and West Niagara. Each regional appellation is in turn divided into a number of smaller sub-appellations. Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Gamay, and Pinot Noir are the dominant vinifera varieties in the Niagara Peninsula. Icewine, a German style first adopted in the Niagara Peninsula by Inniskillin, remains one of the most acclaimed wines of the region. Hopeful producers declare their intent to produce icewine to the VQA in November and allow grapes to remain on the vine into the winter, finally harvesting the frozen grapes at night, when temperatures reach at least -8 degrees Celsius. The resulting wine is concentrated, intensely sweet, and rich but retains acidity for balance. While icewine currently represents about half of Ontario's exports, it accounts for less than 5% of production. The increasing quality and local interest in dry wines is likely to spur increasing exports of the region's table wines. Excellent renditions of Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Riesling and traditional method sparkling wines are starting to find their way to the export market. To the north, much of Prince Edward County is separated from the mainland by water, and the vineyards occupy a fractured landmass of well-drained soils, interspersed with inlets and coves. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are key grapes for the region’s handful of wineries. BACK TO TOP British Columbia On Canada’s Pacific Coast, British Columbia supports nine DVAs: Fraser Valley, Gulf Islands, Kootenays, Lillooet, Okanagan Valley, Shuswap, Similkameen Valley, Thomson Valley, and Vancouver Island. The Okanagan Valley is one of the world’s most northerly wine regions, reaching northward of the 49th parallel, and the most developed region in British Columbia—the valley supplies 84% of the province’s wine. The narrow valley, located between the Cascades and the Monashee Mountains, enjoys long daylight hours and a true continental climate, despite some mitigation of extremes by the nearby Lake Okanagan. Summers are hotter than in California’s coastal regions, and winters are much colder, bringing annual fears of significant vine damage. Vineyards are almost evenly divided between white and red grapes, with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Merlot, and Pinot Blanc enjoying significant acreage. In 1973, prior to Inniskillin’s inception, Walter Hainle produced icewine on a very small scale in Okanagan Valley, but the dessert style in general remains a minor aim for the province's producers. Only a handful of botrytis wines are made. BACK TO TOP Mexico Mexico’s winemaking history began with the arrival of the Spanish to the Americas in the 16th century. The Spanish first tried to make wine with the indigenous vines they found in New Spain (now Mexico) but quickly realized these grapes would not produce good wine. In 1521, Hernán Cortés defeated the Aztec Empire, claiming it for Spain. One of his early orders from the King of Spain was to plant 1,000 vines for each native slave in the new territory. This was when Vitis vinifera, brought over from Europe, was introduced. Although there is controversy over the precise location where vinifera was first planted—some say it was in the state of Veracruz and others believe it was in Puebla—Mexico was the first country producing wine in the Americas. Soon after the defeat of the Aztec Empire, priests began to travel north on missions, seeking to convert the native people. For sacramental use, they cultivated the Listán Prieto grape, also known as Mission—named, of course, for its association with these missions. New Spain's fledgling wine industry soon became so successful that it began exporting wine to Spain, rivaling the industry in the Old World. In the 1600s, Charles II of Spain retaliated by prohibiting winemaking in New Spain. He ordered most vines in the territory to be destroyed, with only a few surviving to produce wine for religious purposes. His law remained in effect until Mexican Independence in 1821. In 1701, Juan Ugarte became the first person to plant vines in the state of Baja California while at the mission in Loreto. Jesuit priests with Misión Santo Tomás started growing a significant number of vines in 1791. During the reform war in Mexico in the 1800s, many of these church land holdings were sold to private investors, while others were abandoned. Bodegas Santo Tomás, for example, was established in 1888 after a private investor bought the land. In 1904, during the Porfiriato (when Mexico was ruled by Porfirio Díaz), the government gave a group of Russians immigrants escaping Tsar Nicolas II 100 acres in Baja California's Guadalupe Valley. They began to grow vines for personal winemaking and encouraged others to do the same, contributing to the region’s growing reputation as an area for quality winemaking. The 1970s brought a resurgence to the industry as Mexican wines were heavily promoted in Mexico City’s restaurants and winemakers began participating in international competitions. Established Spanish wineries such as Casa Pedro Domecq and Freixenet invested in the winemaking regions of Baja California and Querétaro. Today, a total of 25,000 hectares are planted across Mexico, with 8 of its 32 states producing wine. Mexico does not have any type of government regulation for viticulture or viniculture. Producing 85% of Mexico’s wine across 3,360 planted hectares, maritime-influenced Baja California is the most important winemaking state, with a Mediterranean climate well suited to viticulture. Its Guadalupe Valley is home to over 140 wineries, including L.A. Cetto, the largest winery in Mexico. Situated 400 meters above sea level and 25 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean, the area has a strong oceanic influence. The soils on the valley floor are sandy, and the soils on the hillsides are a blend of granite and poor clay. Moving south, the Ojos Negros Valley is the highest altitude and coolest valley in the region at 800 meters above sea level. There is occasional snow here, and it can be warmer than surrounding areas in the summer. The soil is a blend of sand and clay. Further south and 45 kilometers from the city of Ensenada, the Santo Tomás Valley has clay and volcanic soils. The southernmost valley in Baja California is San Vicente, only 11 kilometers from the Pacific. The ocean and the vineyards are divided by a hillside that limits the humidity entering the valley, and the soils are deep red clay with high mineral content. Baja California's other production areas are Valle de la Grulla and Tecate. Beyond Baja California, Coahuila and Querétaro are also key wine-producing states. Coahuila, east of Baja and bordering Texas, produces wine in Arteaga, Saltillo, and Parras de la Fuente. The last of these is most important, a valley oasis in the middle of the desert at 1,500 meters above sea level. It has clay soils and a warm desert climate with cool winters and warm summers. Located here is Casa Madero, the oldest winery in the Americas, founded in 1597. Querétaro is in the very center of Mexico, between 700 and 3,300 meters above sea level. It has a semi-arid climate and chalky and sandy soils. Ezequiel Montes, San Juan del Río, and Tequisquiapan are important growing areas. The other wine-producing states, from north to south, are Sonora, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, and Guanajuato. With the exception of Guanajuato, these states have a semi-arid climate and are dominated by sand and clay soils. Sonora is home to the regions of Bahía Kino, Caborca, and Hermosillo. Durango is divided by the Sierra Madre range, creating microclimates; its most important region is Gómez Palacio. Zacatecas grows grapes in its most southern reaches, where elevation ranges from 400 to 2,000 meters above sea level and temperatures are consistent year round. The key regions are Ojocaliente and Valle de la Macarena. Tucked alongside the southern Zacatecas border, the small state of Aguascalientes has soft sandy soil with gravel and clay. Grapes grow in Pabellón de Arteaga, El Llano, Asientos, Jesús María, and Rincón de Romos at altitudes ranging from 800 to 1,800 meters above sea level. Guanajuato was one of the first Mexican states to produce wine and is known for being the place where the Mexican revolution began. The proximity of the Sierra Madre mountains results in three distinct climates, but wine country, at 1,900 meters above sea level, is mostly continental, with volcanic and gravel soils. The important areas for winegrowing are San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo. BACK TO TOPPreviewhttps://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/w/expert-guides/2551/loire-valleyThu, 15 Oct 2026 18:31:00 GMT8277e151-5ba9-4335-93f0-6f497ffb8dc4:f8f47b07-8807-43cf-8f35-726d267b11a9Stacy LadenburgerContents History Loire Valley Wine Law The Market Land and Climate The Grapes of the Loire Valley Pays Nantais Anjou-Saumur Touraine Central Vineyards Central France Bibliography The Loire Valley is the third largest wine region in France, yet it is also one of the country’s least well known. It follows the broad sweep of the Loire River for nearly 1,000 kilometers, from the mountains of the Massif Central in the center of France to the wild Atlantic coast in the northwest. The Loire and its tributaries are home to more than 50 appellations. Most are populated by small family winegrowers, many of whom have been farming the same land for centuries. More famous for its châteaux than its wine, the Loire is a region of evident history, but it is a region of experimentation and discovery as well, where respect for the past and a spirit of innovation exist side by side. History The Roman officer and historian Pliny the Elder completed his Natural History in 77 CE, reflecting the world he knew in the first century, including its vineyards and wines. In this text, he mentioned that vines were growing on the banks of the Loire, evidence that this region has a vinous history spanning at least two millennia. But it was not until the sixth century that Grégoire, the bishop of Tours, made the first reference to the vineyards in the local region of Touraine, which today includes Chinon and Vouvray. He also confirm ed that vineyards were growing in the Sancerre area, writing, “In the year 582, a late frost scorched the vines.” The church was a driving force in the development of the Loire’s vineyards and wine production, as it was in other parts of France and Europe, until the French Revolution. The Loire River and its tributaries have long provided a route to market for the region’s wines. On the western coast, close to the mouth of the river, Nantes has been an important trading hub for centuries. There is even a theory that in the 19 th century, the local white wine, now known as Muscadet, acquired its name from Dutch traders looking for a neutral, high-acid white wine that they could add to the botanical noix de muscade (nutmeg) prior to distillation. In the 15 th century, the Loire, rather than Paris, was the location of the French royal court. While the monarchs shifted back to Paris in the middle of the 16 th century, the Loire continued to be the summer getaway of the nobility and the wealthy, hence the region’s abundance of ornate châteaux and a love of Loire wine among the aristocracy. Charles VII (1403–1461) was one of the kings who set up court in the Loire Valley. During the Hundred Years’ War, Joan of Arc famously went to see him in Chinon to ask for an army before defeating the king of England during the siege of Orlé ans. Vines and a castle in Chinon (Credit: Stevens Frémont, InterLoire) There were other prominent Loire residents who brought fame to the local wines, including Franç ois Rabelais. Born in Chinon in the late 15 th century, he was most famous for his satirical work Gargantua and Panta gruel , although he also had a stint as both a religious man and a doctor. Some of his wine-related commentary includes the advice that Sauvignon Blanc is good for constipation and the saying “Always drink, never die.” Around the same time that Rabelais was upsetting the establishment with his scathing and comedic writing, the artist Leonardo da Vinci made the Loire his home. In 1516, at age 64, he crossed the Alps on a mule after being invited by François I to be his royal painter. In his luggage were several paintings, including the Mona Lisa. He died in the Loire in 1519 and is buried in the town of Amboise, in the Touraine region. Touraine was one of the main areas to benefit from the 1577 law by the Parlement de Paris that prohibited Parisians from purchasing wines made within a 20-league (around 88-kilometer) radius of the capital, but over the centuries the Parisian market didn’t want to pay a high price for quality. As Xavier de Planhol explains in An Historical Geography of France , this eventually led to a deterioration in the quality of wines produced in areas that were easily reached by river or the canal from Paris. “By the beginning of the seventeenth century, Orléans wine was already banned from the royal table and it lost the last shreds of its reputation over the decades that followed.” The increasing urbanization of the French population called for everyday, low-priced wines. As the railways developed in the 19 th century, the regions that had benefited from their waterway connections with Paris became pitted against the low-cost wine producers of the south. It was around this time that phylloxera arrived in the Loire. It is estimated that when the louse was first identified, in 1877, half the population in the Loire depended in some form on the vine for income. At first, the local phylloxera committees were adamant that they wouldn’t use American rootstocks and would instead inject the soil with carbon disul f ide , but it soon became clear that grafting was necessary. The replanting that followed marked a change in the flavors of the Loire: Sancerre switched from Pinot Noir to Sauvignon Blanc, while Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc gained popularity in Anjou-Saumur. During World War II, the Loire Valley’s wine regions were occupied by the Germans. Saumur was a center of resistance: weapons and documents were hidden in casks that crossed the line between free and occupied France, which was situated south of the river. But many men in the region became prisoners of war, including Gaston Huet, who returned to his native Vouvray having lost one-third of his body weight. Vineyards fell into disrepair, with no one to work in them, and without fungicides or pesticides to control the spread of disease. Following the war, many young people left the countryside to work in cities, while those who stayed began bottling their own wines or organized themselves into cooperatives and started selling their wines in the bistros of Paris. Vines were part of farmers’ income, not their sole income, until the 1960s and 1970s, when goats, cattle, and crops started giving way to vines—and a greater focus on quality winemaking. The 1980s brought major advances in the cellar, with better presses, stainless steel, and temperature control making their debut. Today, the Loire Valley’s wine industry is focused on improving the quality of the raw material: the grapes. There’s also increasing concern regarding the effects of climate change, whether frost, drought, or unpredictable weather events. This is paired with a greener approach; about 30% of Loire Valley vineyards are now either sustainably or organically farmed. Loire Valley Wine Law Loire Valley wines are subject to the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system, initially established throughout France in the 1930s in response to the chaos that ensued after the phylloxera crisis, which largely destroyed the country’s vineyards. This loss of crops led to a surge in fraudulent practices, and soon the market was awash with low-quality wine produced to fulfill demand. In the absence of legal regulations, grapes and wines were routinely blended, often from different origins both within and outside France, and adulterated in numerous ways to stretch volumes further. The appellation system was an effective means of regulating production and ensuring that wines from a particular origin conformed to certain expected criteria. Many of the best-known Loire appellations were defined in 1936, in the earliest days of AOC regulation, including Muscadet, Vouvray, Bourgueil, Chinon, and Saumur. Today, 78% of the Loire Valley’s production is designated AOC and there are 53 separate AOCs. Some winemakers choose to operate outside the system, producing wines that can carry only the basic country designation of Vin de France (VdF). As is the case in other countries with similarly restrictive regulations, most of these wines are of basic quality, but some are of the highest quality, made by producers who wish to make the wines they want to make, even if they do not meet the requirements for appellation status. Wines without geographical indication account for 12% of total Loire production. 2020 figures from the Loire Valley Wines Economic Report 2021 Between AOC and VdF lies a third quality designation: Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP). IGPs are subject to similar but less strict regulations compared with AOCs. They usually cover a wider area than the AOCs, and there is typically greater flexibility on yield levels and the grape varieties that can be grown. The Loire has five IGPs for wine (and one for apple brandy), of which the most important by far is Val de Loire. This covers 4,600 hectares spread over a vast growing area that encompasses 13 different administrative departments and dozens of grape varieties. Reds, whites, and rosés are made under the Val de Loire banner, and almost all are single-variety wines. Permitted yields are 90 hectoliters per hectare, and the wines are light and early drinking in style. Nearly 300,000 hectoliters are made annually under this IGP, which accounts for 9% of all the Loire’s production. The Loire’s other IGPs are Côtes de la Charité, Coteaux de Tannay, Coteaux du Cher et de l’Arnon, and Puy de Dôme. Collectively, they account for a mere 0.2% of the region’s total production. A final style worth noting is vin gris . This term, though not legally regulated, refers to very pale rosé wines. In Coteaux du Vendômois AOC, these wines are based on minimal skin contact with Pineau D'Aunis. In Reuilly AOC, vins gris experience a short maceration with Pinot Gris' pink skins. The Market The Loire Valley is the third largest winegrowing area in France by hectarage, after Bordeaux and the Rhône. It is not easy to visit the Loire Valley in one trip—the drive from Muscadet to Sancerre takes more than four hours. Getting to know its growers takes time, too. There are 3,600 growers cultivating 56,900 hectares of vines, an area larger than the entire Austrian or New Zealand vineyard. Sales figures for 2020 show that close to three-quarters of all Loire wine, equivalent to 210 million bottles, is sold in France. Within France, supermarkets are the most important outlet for Loire Valley wines, particularly those in a low-price, négociant-dominant market, such as Muscadet and the rosé categories Rosé de Loire and Cabernet d’Anjou. For those appellations held in higher esteem, such as the sweet grand cru– designated wines of Quarts de Chaume or the steely dry whites of Savennières, the independent retail sector and on-trade are the key markets. The Loire Valley wine association reports that 26% of all wines, equivalent to 70 million bottles, were shipped overseas in 2020. The five most important export markets (both by value and volume) for the Loire Valley’s wine producers are, in order of sales, the US, the UK, Germany, Belgium, and Canada. Region-wide figures, however, hide the huge variability from one appellation to another. For example, exports account for 62% of Sancerre sales and 64% of Crémant de Loire, which has enjoyed a strong period of growth as part of a wider thirst for French crémant styles both at home and abroad. In the UK, for example, sales increased fivefold from 2012 to 2020. But just 4% of all Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and 14% of Menetou-Salon went overseas. 2020 figures from the Loire Valley Wines Economic Report 2021 White wines take the lead in export markets, accounting for 57% of all wine shipped by volume. Reds and rosé represent 23%, and sparkling 20%. Sancerre is by far the most successful appellation internationally, particularly when it comes to value, while Muscadet, Vouvray, and the Touraine appellation (thanks to Sauvignon Blanc) have healthy volume sales, although value lags. The cost of a vineyard in each of the appellations reflects the market’s appetite for its wines. For example, the average price of a hectare of vineyard land is €7,000 in Muscadet, €26,000 in Vouvray, and €210,000 in Sancerre, according to figures from SAFER, the French rural land agency. This has implications for young winemakers wishing to start a business. In Sancerre, it is difficult to begin unless you are a member of a winegrowing family or a large wine business. The Anjou area, where a hectare costs around €18,000, has become a hotbed of talent and innovation. Here, many are making minimal-intervention wines and trialing unusual blends. Land and Climate The Land The Loire Valley is the most sprawling of French wine regions, perhaps unsurprising since it follows the flow of the country’s longest river. The geology of the vineyards is highly diverse and often immediately visible. The soil is considered a crucial part of the identity of each place and the starting point for defining an appellation. Visit any Loire winegrower and they will most likely talk about what is under the ground before anything else. Savennières Roche aux Moines (Credit: Savennières) The oldest rocks in the Loire Valley—and in all of France—are found in the far west. This is the Armorican Massif (Massif Armoricain), which covers all of northwestern France. It is the remains of the giant Hercynian range of mountains from the Precambrian era. Looking at the landscape today, it is hard to believe that mountains were once here, as the land is low-lying, with only gentle slopes. But 600 million years of weathering have resulted in soils of enormous complexity. These old rocks form the basis of the soils of Muscadet and other appellations of the Nantais region and the western half of Anjou, including Savennières. This area is known as the Anjou Noir (or Black Anjou) because of the dark soils that characterize the Armorican Massif. Granite, gneiss, multicolored schist, slate, and pudding stones are found here. The dividing line between the Anjou Noir and the Anjou Blanc runs from north to south, starting southeast of Angers. The Anjou Blanc (White Anjou) marks the beginning of the Paris Basin, a low-lying area in northern France that was covered by the sea during the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods (67 to 195 million years ago). The more recent, shallow seas that receded to leave soils based on soft, chalky Cretaceous limestone are easily visible today in the houses, castles, and cellars of the lower Loire. These are the soils of eastern Anjou and Touraine. Further eastward, the Paris Basin continues to be the bedrock of the vineyards of the Central Vineyards, around Sancerre. The seas were deeper here, however, and these older soils (from the Jurassic period) are frequently characterized by the presence of tiny fossils. The Kimmeridgian clays found in Sancerre continue to the vineyards of Chablis. A fault runs through the town of Sancerre, adding complexity to the range of soils and defining the appellations of the Central Vineyards. These include islands of flint, for example around Saint-Andelain in Pouilly-Fumé. The divide between the Armorican Massif and Paris Basin (Credit: InterLoire) To the south, back toward the source of the Loire River, the vineyards of the Auvergne have younger soils based on the decomposed volcanoes of the Massif Central. Schists and granite predominate, and Gamay is the red grape that thrives, as it does on the granite soils of Beaujolais. The Climate The vineyards of the Loire cover an area that extends more than 800 kilometers across France, but the climate of the region is dictated primarily by its northern latitude. The great majority of the vineyards lie on the 47 th parallel; only the Alsace and Champagne wine regions are further north in France. The growing environment for red wines is marginal, and even for whites it is far from reliable. But beyond the simple commonality of latitude, there is considerable climatic variation both between and within the different appellations, which explains the enormous diversity of grapes and styles produced in the Loire Valley. The Role of Altitude Altitude rarely has a significant impact on the climate of the vineyards of the Loire. Most are at or close to sea level. In Muscadet, the viewpoint of Butte de la Roche gives an extensive 360-degree view across the vineyards at less than 50 meters above sea level. Elsewhere, most vineyards are below 100 meters in altitude. There are a few exceptions, however. In Sancerre, the famed slopes of Les Monts Damnés vineyard rise to 436 meters, and many of the vines in the appellation grow between 250 and 350 meters above sea level. Another outlier is the upper Loire, where the vineyards are situated in the Massif Central. These appellations are several hundred kilometers south of the Central Vineyards region, geographically detached from the main vineyard area. Here, the latitude is more like that of southern Burgundy, but the climate is influenced by the altitude of the vines, which are situated between 200 and 600 meters above sea level. The climate is semicontinental, with cold winters and hot summers, and little precipitation. A major climatic influence is the foehn, a warm wind that descends from the mountains to the vineyards. The overall climate is maritime for the Nantais region, where the Muscadet vineyards lie, becoming more temperate-oceanic in the adjoining Anjou region immediately east. Further eastward, the Atlantic influence diminishes from Saumur toward the warmer red-wine heartland of Touraine, the vineyards of Chinon and Bourgueil. Further east from there, the climate becomes more continental in the premier Sauvignon Blanc growing areas in the Central Vineyards, where there are wider temperature variations between summer and winter. This is also the case for the vineyards of the upper Loire, situated south of the Central Vineyards. Frost is a regular hazard in this part of the world, and crop losses in recent years—notably 2021, but also 2019, 2017, and 2016—have been dramatic. Beyond frosts, there are multiple other risks to the health and quality of the harvest that are climate related, including hail, autumn rain, and the constant threat of mildew during the growing season. Throughout the appellations of the Loire, vintage variation is significant from year to year, which is one reason for the strength of the Loire sparkling wine industry, second in volume only to Champagne in France. When the weather is challenging during the growing season, it has always been useful to be able to fall back on fizz to make the best of grapes that achieve less than ideal ripeness (in Vouvray, for example). Likewise, in semisweet Anjou rosé, sugar can compensate for underripe fruit. No Loire vine is far from a river, and these rivers play a key role in determining the temperature, humidity, and airflow of the growing environment. Many of the best vineyards are on south-facing slopes next to a river—if not the Loire itself, then one of its many tributaries: the Maine, Sèvre, Vienne, Indre, Allier, Loir, Layon, Thouet, or Cher. The great sweet wines of Vouvray and Quarts de Chaume are only possible thanks to the vineyards’ proximity to the Loire and Layon Rivers, which create the autumn mists necessary for the development of botrytis in favorable years. Climate Change Temperatures have measurably increased in the Loire Valley since the 1940s. According to the Huglin index, the climate in the Loire Valley cities of Nantes, Angers, Tours, and Bourges moved from cold to temperate during the 60-year period to 2010. The average temperature over this period increased by 1.35 degrees Celsius, and an ongoing study notes that average Loire temperatures have increased by 3 degrees Celsius in the last 30 years. There have also been rises in the minimum temperature (1.4 degrees Celsius) and the maximum (1.3 degrees Celsius) over this period. Researchers have observed that the regions east of Saumur experienced higher rises in maximum temperatures because of the decreasing oceanic influence. The Atlantic serves to lower maximum temperatures in the Nantais region thanks to the presence of cloud cover, which mitigates very high temperatures but correspondingly raises minimum temperatures at night, because the continued presence of cloud is more likely to prevent heat escaping at night. Climate change has had several consequences, both positive and negative. The Loire was historically a region where grapes often failed to achieve full ripeness. Warmer temperatures and increased levels of photosynthesis have yielded better-quality wines, especially the reds. Today, there are far fewer examples of green and leafy Cabernet Franc; Pinot Noir wines have acquired a sensual richness; Gamay wines are plump and juicy. For whites, too, more reliable ripening has been welcome. The negative effect of higher temperatures is the risk that the wines are unbalanced. Grapes show higher levels of sugar—and therefore alcohol—and lower acidity. The typical profile of the wines has undoubtedly changed. That this is related to climate change is highly probable. But changes in viticultural practices have also allowed grapegrowers to achieve higher levels of ripeness in their fruit through bunch thinning and leaf removal, methods that have benefits for plant health as well. Viticulture has become more challenging with a changing climate. With higher temperatures early in the season, the vine’s growing cycle has shifted, so budbreak is earlier. As a result, when the spring frosts strike—as they have always done, to a greater or lesser extent—the vine is far more advanced than it would have been in years past and the losses more consequent. The annual fight against frost is a major concern. When frost is forecast, candles are used in the vineyards at night, although some ecologically minded growers are increasingly reluctant to resort to this practice. Using water-spraying at night is an effective solution, but few can access the quantity of water required. Frost fans are often employed as well. The surest solution seems to be using heated electric wires positioned along the training wires in the canopy, but this requires substantial investment. Most growers are seeking adaptations to their working practices, principally by pruning later, pruning longer, pruning twice, or any combination of these. Such adaptations are expensive and time consuming but appear to mitigate losses, at least in part. At the other end of the scale, heat and drought associated with climate change are problematic, especially in a region where irrigation is forbidden under AOC legislation. At temperatures much over 30 degrees Celsius, photosynthesis decreases, and eventually the vine shuts down and blocks maturation of the grapes. In 2022, early season drought and heat in May were followed by a heat wave and further drought in July, a situation that had never been seen before. The Grapes of the Loire Valley White Grapes Sauvignon Blanc: The Loire Valley is likely the birthplace of Sauvignon Blanc , and it contains around one-third of France’s Sauvignon Blanc vineyard area. The grape’s home is in the eastern part of the Touraine region and further east in the Central Vineyards, an area that includes Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé and sits around 450 kilometers from the Atlantic coast. Figures from the Loire Valley Wines Economic Report 2021 Sauvignon Blanc was first mentioned in 1534 by François Rabelais in Gargantua and Pantagruel , where he referred to the grape as Fiers. It wasn’t until almost 200 years later that Sauvignon Blanc’s existence in Bordeaux, the country’s other main Sauvignon Blanc–producing area, was recorded. Around that time, in 1783, Sauvignon Blanc was also mentioned in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, but it didn’t become the grape of choice until after phylloxera. Sauvignon Blanc is a fertile variety that can produce large quantities of fruit as well as large canopies. As a result, low vigor soils or low vigor rootstocks, or both, are recommended. Most Sauvignon Blanc growers in the Loire battle powdery mildew each year, and this is becoming a greater issue with increasingly warm, humid weather. Sauvignon Blanc’s naturally small-berried, tightly packed bunches make it susceptible to botrytis, and wood diseases including E utypa dieback and esca are also common challenges. The Loire Valley typically yields more restrained examples of Sauvignon Blanc compared with those of New Zealand. The two regions show some similarities in terms of growing season temperatures and annual rainfall. But the sunlight is more intense and there are more sunshine hours in New Zealand compared with the Loire. Henri Bourgeois has properties in both Marlborough and Sancerre and has found that the intensity of light in New Zealand means that extra leaf protection is crucial. The greater sunlight and higher ultraviolet light exposure may play a part in the exuberance of Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand, while in the Loire the aromas are less overt and less tropical, often including gooseberry, elderflower, nettle, and citrus flavors. In warmer seasons, however, such as 2018, 2019, and 2020, ripeness levels were unprecedented, with ripe orchard fruit, lower acids, and high alcohol commonly found in the wines. The classic Loire Sauvignon Blanc style is dry, unoaked, and fresh. Grapes are often machine harvested and fermented relatively cool in stainless steel tanks to preserve aromatic freshness. Malolactic fermentation is typically blocked, and a short period on lees ensues before bottling. But there are many prestige and single-vineyard cuv é es that are hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, and fermented wild in barrel (typically used barrels of varying sizes). Experimentation has also increased, with a range of fermentation vessels and different techniques (such as brief skin contact, extended lees aging, and lees stirring) used. 10,094 hectares in 2020 Chenin: Dry vs. Sweet There is a growing preference for drier styles of still Chenin Blanc. Because of climate change, producers can make wines with riper phenolics and lower acidity levels that don’t need residual sugar as a counterpoint. But there is a concern that consumer demand for dry styles is prompting producers to make dry wines even when they would be better balanced with residual sugar. The preference for drier styles is also affecting the demi-sec category, with residual sugar levels edging lower, while the sec tendre category offers an option between sec and demi-sec. In the historic and prestigious sweet wine appellations of the Loire, several producers have shifted from producing sweet wines because of financial pressure and are now making dry wines in the appellation of Quarts de Chaume. These wines cannot be labeled with the appellation name, however, as it is a designation for sweet wine only; instead they must be labeled as Anjou AOC Blanc or Vin de France. Chenin Blanc: The Loire Valley produces 93% of France’s Chenin Blanc . The grape plays a key role in Anjou-Saumur, where its best-known incarnation is in the small but significant appellation of Savennières, and in the eastern slice of the Touraine region, where the Vouvray and Montlouis-sur-Loire appellations champion this versatile variety. It seems that Chenin Blanc is a Loire native, tracing its roots back at least 1,000 years, when it was referred to as Plant d’Anjou. In the early 16 th century, an abbot and his finance minister brother-in-law, Thomas Bohier, undertook trials with different varieties from around France on the grounds of the Montchenin monastery, south of Tours. The grape now known as Chenin Blanc flourished, perhaps taking its name from the monastery—but there are various theories on the development of the name. There remain around 60 synonyms for Chenin Blanc, with Pineau d’Anjou and Pineau de la Loire the most common in the Loire Valley. The local historian Henri Galinié discovered that Plant d’Anjou and Pineau de la Loire were the most used names until the 1800s, although the peasant growers were commonly using Chenin in the fields. With the standardization of the modern French language followed by the development of the field of ampelography in the early 19 th century, there was a need to remove the confusion between Pineau and Pinot. In an 1875 dictionary, Chenin Blanc appeared as a synonym for Pineau and eventually became the more common name. Chenin Blanc is not easy to grow. It is an early budding variety, and milder winters are leading to an earlier budbreak. This, in combination with more frequent and harder frosts, puts the vine at risk in early spring. Late pruning and investment in frost protection have become common across the valley. Chenin Blanc is a vigorous variety, and growers who wish to produce quality wine must manage crop loads through removing unwanted shoots and crop thinning, which also help promote aeration in the battle against powdery mildew and bunch rot. While Chenin Blanc is a mid-ripener, traditionally maturing in early to mid-October, the harvests are coming earlier. Highly sensitive to botrytis, it is the variety behind the famed sweet wines of Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux within the Coteaux du Layon. Used for sparkling styles as well as dry, demi-sec, and fully botrytized wines, Chenin Blanc is one of the finest, most versatile grapes. Depending on the season or the demands of the market, producers may opt to make dry or sweet styles—or, in some cases, different sweetness levels from the same vineyard, undertaking multiple tries (passes), to obtain the ripeness they desire. Typically, a cooler season lends itself to sparkling and taut, dry styles. Riper seasons with dry autumns allow fully mature, dry expressions and sweeter styles to be produced. 9,540 hectares in 2020 Melon B: Melon B is inextricably associated with Muscadet and is planted almost exclusively in the Nantais region. It is often referred to as Melon de Bourgogne because it originated in Burgundy, although it was rejected by its homeland many years ago. The variety has been planted in the Nantais since the 1600s, but for centuries it lived in the shadow of Folle Blanche because of the latter’s prolific production destined for eau-de-vie. Melon B was always recognized as a superior variety for making wine, however, and it is now the dominant variety. It is well-suited to this cool region because it can withstand low winter temperatures. The Melon B planted in the Nantais accounts for 99.9% of all the plantings of the variety in France. The great majority of this is planted in the Muscadet appellation, where it constitutes the largest concentration of a single variety anywhere in the Loire Valley. Basic wines made from Melon B are typically pale, light in alcohol, unoaked, neutral in flavor, and a good match for the local oysters. To give the wines more aroma and body (and often a slight spritz of carbon dioxide), the traditional practice of aging on lees until the spring following the harvest is widespread in the Muscadet region. Many producers are now taking this practice further, identifying the best sites and limiting yields to create a system of cru wines. With limited yields and extended lees aging, Melon B wines can become serious contenders for some of the best white wines from the Loire. A smaller amount of Melon B (around 18%) is blended with other varieties or made into still or sparkling wines under the Vin de France label. 8,327 hectares in 2020 Chardonnay: For a grape variety that is so ubiquitous, Chardonnay is a minor player in the Loire and rarely seen bottled as a varietal wine. Less important quantitatively and qualitatively than Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, or Melon B, it is more often used as blending material to soften the sometimes hard edges of the more acidic Melon B or Chenin Blanc, usually for more basic wines. It also has appeal in sparkling blends with Chenin Blanc. The only place where Chardonnay takes a lead role is in the whites of the Auvergne, which must be 100% Chardonnay. It is also found in blends in the wines of Saint-Pourçain. It is the sixth most planted grape variety in the Loire. 2,902 hectares in 2020 Other White Grapes Folle Blanche: Folle Blanche, also known as Gros Plant, is a highly productive and highly acidic variety from southwestern France, traditionally used for making Cognac. This most likely explains its strong historic presence in the Nantais region, where it was grown specifically for brandy production for Dutch merchants in the 17 th century. Today, it has its own dedicated appellation for wine, Gros Plant du Pays Nantais, but the volume produced is a fraction of that of Muscadet. The vine buds early, making it susceptible to frost in this cool region. Perhaps more valued for its productivity than its quality, there are nevertheless some appealing, crisp examples to be found, usually from top producers of Muscadet. Like Muscadet, Folle Blanche’s neutral, refreshing qualities make it a popular and inexpensive choice in local seafood restaurants. Romorantin: A peculiarity of the Loire Valley, the Romorantin variety, a cross of Pinot and Gouais Blanc, is synonymous with Cour-Cheverny AOC, an appellation of 11 villages in the Loire-et-Cher department south and east of the city of Blois. The vineyard area is a tiny 50 hectares, devoted exclusively to the grape, which takes its name from the village of Romorantin. François I once resided here, and legend has it that he was the first person to order Romorantin plants from their native Burgundy, in 1519. Romorantin produces small, flavorful berries that are difficult to ripen—its major drawback. It is harvested relatively late, making very fresh, typically dry whites with notable intensity and length. Chasselas: Chasselas is an ancient variety of uncertain origins, best known in its adopted home of Switzerland. In the Loire Valley, it has its own appellation, Pouilly-sur-Loire, a mere 30 hectares sandwiched between the two Sauvignon Blanc titans of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Though the region is not particularly well known, there is a long history of producing Chasselas here, and it achieved appellation status the same year as Pouilly-Fumé, in 1937. Chasselas wines are rather quieter than those from the more assertive Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh, floral, and crisp, they are easy-drinking wines generally intended for early consumption. Pinot Gris: Pinot Gris appears in interesting guises at opposite ends of the river. In the Coteaux d’Ancenis appellation, east of Nantes, it is made into a locally appreciated semisweet wine under the synonym Malvoisie. In the Central Vineyards region, south of Sancerre, the winemakers of Reuilly transform it into a vin gris , a pale and dry rosé, by using its pink skins for color. Each less than 1% of total vineyard area in 2020 Red Grapes Cabernet Franc: The most planted variety in the Loire, Cabernet Franc represents one-quarter of the Valley’s vineyard area. Rabelais was the first to mention the red grape in the Loire, in 1534, under the name of Breton. He wrote that it was not grown in Brittany, as the name suggests, but in the village of Beaumont-en-Véron, which is a very short drive from the town of Chinon and continues to be a source of excellent wines. While there is no definitive proof that this wine was Cabernet Franc, the odds are good. It’s possible that the variety came to the Loire via Brittany, hence the name Breton. Alternately, it is noted in Wine Grapes that “in 1631, Cardinal de Richelieu sent out thousands of vines of the best Bordeaux variety to his steward, Abbé Breton, who planted them in Chinon and Bourgueil. The vine was later named Plant de l’Abbé Breton, and then simply Breton.” DNA testing, however, has shown that Cabernet Franc may have its roots not in France but in the Basque country, as it is related to Hondarribi Beltza, with some similar characteristics in the glass. Cabernet Franc at Charles Joguet in Chinon (Credit: Domaine Charles Joguet) Cabernet Franc is known for its red fruit flavors and floral notes, and as the understanding of the variety progressed in the first two decades of this century, there was a growing realization that new oak is not necessarily the best partner for this fragrant variety. In terms of structure, it is typically light to medium in body, and it is less tannic than Cabernet Sauvignon, retaining a bright acidity that can imbue the best examples with the ability to age for several decades. Cabernet Franc is not used solely for red wine; it is also widely used in the rosés of Anjou and is permitted in Crémant de Loire. The variety is at home in the Saumur region as well as the western half of Touraine, particularly the appellations of Chinon, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, and Bourgueil. There are also plantings on the schist soils of Anjou, where it can be blended with Cabernet Sauvignon. It may also be found in a blend with Côt (Malbec) or Gamay in Touraine. Cabernet Franc has suffered from a reputation for failing to ripen properly, resulting in high methoxypyrazine levels, overtly peppery characters, and astringency. But the arrival of a generation of well-trained and well-traveled winemakers, as well as the region-wide Project Cabernet Franc in the early 2000s, prompted a new approach. Producers were encouraged to pick later to improve ripeness, decrease their fermentation temperatures to preserve the wine’s fragrance, and employ oxygen for tannin management and to minimize the variety’s reductive tendencies. They were also encouraged to use less oak, taking inspiration from Burgundy rather than pursuing a Bordeaux style of Cabernet Franc. Nature has also improved the ripeness levels of Cabernet Franc. Warmer growing seasons and better vineyard management have diminished the green-edged tannins that characterized Cabernet Franc wines of the past. In some warm vintages, however, sugar ripeness occurs before phenolic ripeness and winemakers must be careful not to overextract. 15,950 hectares in 2020 Gamay: Gamay is grown across the Loire Valley and is the second most planted black variety, albeit a long way behind Cabernet Franc. An excellent blending partner, it can also produce compelling varietal wines when carefully grown in the right place. Commonly paired with Pinot Noir (either through choice or necessity), Gamay is also one of several varieties from which growers can choose for blending into Rosé d’Anjou, Saumur Fines Bulles, or Anjou Mousseux. It is not authorized for inclusion in Crémant de Loire. In the Fiefs Vendéens and Coteaux Giennois, Gamay is blended with Pinot Noir, while the reds and rosés of the small Châteaumeillant appellation are blends that involve Gamay to a greater or lesser degree, along with Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. On its own, Gamay is used to make pale, delicate wines in the Coteaux d’Ancenis appellation, sometimes with a small amount of Cabernet Franc. In Anjou and Touraine, too, some Gamay is vinified alone to make Anjou or Touraine Gamay, light and early-drinking styles that are sometimes labeled as primeur . The appellations of the upper Loire are where Gamay really shines, especially when grown on volcanic, granite-based soils. In Saint-Pourçain, rosés are 100% Gamay, while reds are blends with Pinot Noir. In the Côtes d’Auvergne, Gamay and Pinot Noir combine to produce easy-drinking reds and rosés. The Loire’s most exciting Gamay wines come from the appellations where the variety is the only one permitted for reds and rosés: the Côte Roannaise and Côtes du Forez. Here, the grape can produce juicy, silky, red-fruited wines that in good years combine more southerly generosity of fruit with Loire elegance and sense of place. 4,197 hectares in 2020 Pinot Noir: It might be better known as the grape of Burgundy, but Pinot Noir has a long history in the Loire’s Central Vineyards, dating to at least the 14 th century. Pinot Noir now represents around 15% of production in the area. The variety is also found further west in the Touraine region, and as far as the Atlantic coastline as a permitted grape within the Fiefs Vendéens appellation. Additionally, it can be used to produce Rosé de Loire, Crémant de Loire sparkling wine (as part of a blend), and rosé and red wines under IGP Val de Loire. Pinot Noir is vulnerable to spring frosts because of its propensity to bud early, and it is susceptible to both oidium and powdery mildew. While it was once made into crisp reds suited to by-the-glass sales in brasseries, the effects of climate change have created warmer conditions that allow it to ripen more reliably. Because a wide range of styles is produced, generalizations about Loire Pinot Noir are difficult. From oaked to unoaked, destemmed to whole cluster, there are about as many different approaches to making Pinot Noir as there are clones. 2,227 hectares in 2020 Other Red Grapes Grolleau: Unique to the Loire Valley, Grolleau is the region’s fourth most planted black grape. Valued historically for its very high productivity, Grolleau has fallen in popularity in recent years as focus has shifted to quality over quantity. There are some interesting examples of varietal red Grolleau to be found, but for the most part it remains a major source of productive income in the form of lightly fruity, off-dry Rosé d’Anjou, where it is an important part of the blend. It can also be used as a blending component in sparkling wines. Grolleau plantings cover around 2,000 hectares. Pineau d ’ Aunis: Pineau d’Aunis is an unusual and ancient variety, unrelated to the Pinot family and, unlike several other grapes in the Loire Valley named Pineau, not a synonym for anything else. It is planted almost exclusively in the lesser-known Touraine vineyards of the river Loir (a tributary of the Loire), although it is occasionally featured in blends elsewhere. Susceptible to chlorosis and botrytis bunch rot, it is a difficult grape to grow, and careful management of yields is essential to maintaining quality. Usually vinified red, it produces wines that appear very pale but deliver an altogether more characterful mouthful. Good Pineau d’Aunis is aromatically enticing, with surprisingly robust tannins and peppery spice. The major appellations for Pineau d’Aunis are Coteaux du Vendômois and Coteaux du Loir, where the grape is used to produce red and rosé wines. C ôt: An old variety hailing from southwestern France, Côt is a synonym for Malbec . A cross of Magdeleine Noire des Charentes and Prunelard, the variety has significant clonal variation, and wine style is greatly affected by climate. The Côt wines of the Loire bear little resemblance to the rich and densely fruited Malbecs of Argentina—although both expressions have a distinctive, deep purple color. Côt is a vigorous grape and ripens around two weeks earlier than Cabernet Franc, making it an attractive option in areas where ripening is less than certain. Plantings are concentrated in Touraine, where it appears as a varietal wine or blended with Cabernet Franc or Gamay. Stylistically, Loire wines made from Côt are light and early drinking, falling between Gamay and Cabernet Franc in terms of structure and style. Each less than 1% of total vineyard area in 2020 Pays Nantais Muscadet is the most important wine of the Pays Nantais, or Nantais, region, and the Muscadet appellation is the largest in the Loire Valley. It covers an area of 6,863 hectares, low hills carpeted with vines around the city of Nantes. Muscadet is one of the Loire’s best-known wines and one of the easiest to understand. These white wines are light, still, and dry, and almost all are made from a single grape variety, Melon B. Muscadet’s Melon B is more consistent than its versatile Anjou neighbor, Chenin Blanc, but this makes it a surer buy from a consumer’s perspective: the style of wine in a bottle marked Muscadet will never diverge very far from what is expected. Click to enlarge and zoom in The history of Muscadet wine is not particularly illustrious. For centuries, Melon B was undervalued commercially, since the always productive Folle Blanche was so much more lucrative for use in brandy production. Melon B rose to prominence only as the brandy trade diminished and interest in wine developed. It finally became established when French vineyards were replanted at the start of the 20 th century, following the crisis of phylloxera. Similarly neutral in style to Folle Blanche, Melon B has always been recognized as a finer wine grape, with more mellow acidity and softer fruit. Yet for most of its history, wine from Melon B has been considered an inexpensive drink for local consumption. Even today, most Muscadet doesn’t travel far. Muscadet enjoyed a brief period of revived fortunes when it became a popular mainstay at the cheap end of wine lists around the UK in the 1980s and 1990s. At this time, more than 13,000 hectares of Melon B were planted, and négociants were producing large volumes of Muscadet wine. The British thirst for cheap Muscadet had led to increased plantings, higher yields, and a corresponding drop in the quality of the wine produced. At the same time, Muscadet was competing for attention in the UK with new and exciting, exuberantly flavored offerings from the New World. Muscadet fell in popularity, and a succession of poor vintages in the early 1990s further diminished demand. Vineyards were abandoned, and the area under vine has been slowly declining ever since. While some regions of the Loire have been net beneficiaries of climate change, Muscadet has suffered particularly badly from the vagaries of the climate. Viticulture in the region is increasingly precarious because of spring frosts, which are much more damaging when the vine has started its growing season early, as is increasingly the case. In 2021, average crop loss was a staggering 80% following 11 nights of subzero temperatures in April. Even so, there is a real cause for optimism in Muscadet: the wines themselves. In a world where it is difficult to find wines that are under 13% alcohol, Muscadet, which typically is 12%, is a notable exception. Exuberance is easy to find, but subtlety is much rarer, and this is where Muscadet excels. For those seeking a wine that will provide an elegant, crisp partner to lighter foods, and that won’t be too expensive or too high in alcohol, Muscadet delivers, and today there are many serious producers of the style. Aging Sur Lie Lees aging is one of the major winemaking practices distinguishing different producers and styles of Muscadet today. Winemakers who stir lees frequently and age their wines for several years will have richer, creamier, fatter styles than those who leave their wines to age untouched but protected by the reductive effect of the lees, often in the underground glass-lined vats traditional to the region. The effect of the lees will also depend on the aging vessel chosen. The old-style vats keep the aging wine in an inert environment and at a constant, cool underground temperature, but modern winemakers use all types of vessels, including oak, concrete eggs, and amphorae. Lees comprise mainly dead yeast cells from the wine’s fermentation. When lees are left in contact with wine for an extended period, they begin to break down, or autolyze, imparting flavor, aroma, and texture to the wine, as well as a mild spritz of carbon dioxide. As Muscadet does not have a strong personality of its own, lees aging can add interest and complexity. The longer a wine is left on its lees, and the more the lees are moved around, the greater their influence on the final wine’s style. Most Muscadet is aged on its lees for a short time after vinification, which gave the grower the right to add the words sur lie to the label. Traditionally, this was not a separate appellation but an addition to it. The rules state that for a wine to be labeled sur lie , it must spend no more than one winter on lees and may not be bottled before March 1 of the year following fermentation, which equates to between 5 and 14 months of aging. In 2020, Muscadet AOP removed the rights to this verbiage. Muscadet The broad, generic Muscadet AOC covers a wide swath of land running from east of the town of Ancenis all the way to the coast beyond Nantes in the southwest, a planted area that totals 6,863 hectares. This encompasses all the land in the other Muscadet appellations (outlined below), plus 1,647 hectares of land entitled only to Muscadet AOC. The generic appellation differs from the other three in terms of the laws regarding its production. Base yields are considerably higher, at 70 hectoliters per hectare compared with 55 for the others, so any of the other appellations may default to the generic appellation if yields are above 55 hectoliters per hectare. There is no right to the sur lie indication (see sidebar) after the 2020 vintage. Instead, the wines may be labeled as primeur to distinguish them as bottled in their youthful state. It is also the only appellation to have the right to include a variety other than Melon B: up to 10% Chardonnay may be added to basic Muscadet wines. The appellation was granted AOC status in 1937. Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine One of the first AOCs granted, in 1936, the Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine appellation is centered around the Sèvre Nantaise and Maine tributaries of the Loire. It remains the heart of all Muscadet production today, accounting for more than 70% of plantings across 4,912 hectares. The vines grow in a concentrated area just south of the city of Nantes. The soils of Muscadet comprise a highly complex and varied mixture of igneous and metamorphic rocks, including gneiss, granite, gabbro, amphibolite, mica schist, and many others. Recognizing the variations in wines produced on certain different soil types, producers applied for cru status for wines from these distinctive origins. The first crus —Clisson, Gorges, and Le Pallet—were approved by the Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO) in 2011. A further four—Goulaine, Château Thébaud, Monnières-Saint-Fiacre, and Mouzillon-Tillières—were granted cru status in 2019. The crus are not appellations in themselves but dé nominations gé ographiques c ompl é mentaires , a term describing a supplementary geographical addition that can appear on labels as an add-on to an existing appellation under certain specified conditions. Cru wines are subject to lower yields—45 rather than 55 hectoliters per hectare—and the fruit of very young vines cannot be used (although the minimum age is only six years). The grapes must come from specific identified sites and have higher ripeness (potential alcohol). The wines must be matured for a lengthy period on lees before release to qualify for the additional mention of cru . The Wines must be aged on their fine lees until at least October 1 of the second year following the harvest. These wines are often of excellent quality, with the extended lees aging bringing rich texture, increased depth, and savory, autolysis-derived flavors. In bottle, they can age for decades and represent some of the best value wines in the Loire Valley. Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire The Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire AOC was granted in 1936. It covers an area almost identical to the Coteaux d’Ancenis appellation (discussed below), on hillsides running along either side of the Loire from Nantes eastward to beyond Ancenis. The planted area is 100 hectares. Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu AOC , which received appellation status in 1994, is centered around the lake of Grandlieu, south of Nantes and west of the bulk of plantings in Sèvre-et-Maine AOC. It includes 204 planted hectares. Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire (Credit: Philippe Caharel, InterLoire) Coteaux d’Ancenis Between Nantes and Angers, the 150-hectare Coteaux d’Ancenis AOC is situated on slopes set back on either side of the Loire. Its boundaries are almost identical to those of the Muscadet appellation of Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire, and it is centered around the riverside town of Ancenis. Vineyards are scattered over a broad area where crops and cattle populate the flatter land, and vines grow at 20 to 80 meters above the river. Two-thirds of the appellation focuses on semisweet Pinot Gris, locally known as Malvoisie, with 20 to 40 grams per liter of residual sugar. Most is consumed within the region. Reds and rosés are typically 100% Gamay but may contain a small proportion of Cabernet Franc. These are light, dry, and refreshing wines that reflect the cool and mild oceanic climate. Gros Plant du Pays Nantais Extending west from Ancenis all the way to the coast is the 570-hectare Gros Plant du Pays Nantais AOC , a former Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) whites-only denomination for dry wines from the Folle Blanche (meaning “crazy white”) grape, less evocatively known as Gros Plant (meaning “big plant”). Both names could be reflective of the grape’s productive nature: since its 2011 AOC status, the appellation’s permitted base yield is a hefty 75 hectoliters per hectare. The wines are mild in aroma and flavor, and they are characterized by their uniformly high acidity. Gros Plant may be aged on lees for a few months in a similar fashion to Muscadet sur lie . Most wines are 100% Folle Blanche but may include up to 10% Colombard. Fiefs Vendéens The most oceanic of the Loire’s vineyards is the coastal Fiefs Vendéens AOC , an area of around 350 hectares, where 15 vignerons farm five discrete parcels of vines south of the city of Nantes. The name of each subzone forms part of the appellation: Brem, Mareuil, Chantonnay, Pissotte, or Vix. Because of the complex nature of the soils—as in Muscadet, they are derived from the Armorican Massif—each subzone has its own set of rules regarding permitted varieties and the proportions that must make up each wine. All wines must be blends. Reds and rosés, produced in similar quantities, account for more than 80% of the appellation’s wines. Rosés are blends of Pinot Noir and Gamay; reds are from Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc blended with Négrette, the variety native to southwestern France that also has historic associations here. Whites are blends of a majority of Chenin Blanc with Chardonnay. The requirement that all wines must be blended has encouraged some growers to produce wine outside the appellation. Anjou-Saumur The Anjou-Saumur region is the Loire Valley’s largest for both production and area under vine. Its 15,463 planted hectares cover varied terroir. Nearly every style of wine can be found in Anjou, and from a surprisingly small selection of varieties. The ever-versatile Chenin Blanc dominates for white and sparkling wines, while Cabernet Franc is the primary grape for reds and rosés. Supporting varieties include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grolleau, and Pineau d’Aunis. Click to enlarge and zoom in Most of the vineyards lie on the left (south) bank of the Loire, between the towns of Angers and Saumur. Following a north-south line slightly west of Angers, the old rocks of the Armorican Massif give way to the younger, Jurassic rocks of the Paris Basin, which continues eastward throughout Touraine. Locally, a distinction is made between the Anjou Noir and the Anjou Blanc, reflecting the visible difference between the darker, black rocks of volcanic origin and the pale, chalky limestone. There are many individual mesoclimates in Anjou-Saumur, but overall the area has the highest cumulative temperatures and lowest rainfall of all the growing regions of the Loire. Although the area is situated east of the Nantais region, its proximity to the coast (the most easterly vineyards are less than two hours from the Atlantic) allows for an oceanic influence on its climate, especially for the more westerly vineyards. Further inland, the locals’ term for the climate—and often the overall natural milieu—is la douceur angevine , which loosely translates as “mild and comfortable Anjou,” although significant spring frosts have impacted recent vintages. The Loire and several other rivers contribute to the climate and styles of wine, notably the Layon and Aubance tributaries, which are responsible for creating conditions favorable to making the sweet wines of Anjou. A wide range of appellations is covered by the Anjou-Saumur umbrella. There is an equally wide range of quality levels, from small-scale, hand-crafted wines of international renown to large-scale, inexpensive offerings that are commercially successful in France but rarely seen elsewhere. The most important production of the region is rosé, which falls more into the second category. The rosés of Anjou are the reason that the Loire is the second highest rosé-producing region in the country, behind Provence. But in contrast with Provence’s runaway international success, consumption of Loire rosé is largely domestic. Cabernet d’Anjou and Rosé d’Anjou The rosé-focused Cabernet d’Anjou AOC accounts for 45% of the Anjou-Saumur region’s volume and Rosé d’Anjou AOC a further 17%. The two appellations cover more than 15% of all the hectarage of the entire Loire Valley. Grapes for these wines can be grown anywhere in the 128 communes that compose the Anjou appellation. Cabernet d’Anjou plantings are of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and any combination or single-varietal expression of the grapes can be used to make this semisweet rosé. Nearly 6,500 hectares are planted for this purpose alone. The wines must contain a minimum of 10 grams per liter of residual sugar, but there is no upper limit, and they are typically sweeter than this. Permitted yields are on the high side for an AOC, at 60 hectoliters per hectare, but this is still lower than the sister rosé appellation Rosé d’Anjou, where 65 hectoliters per hectare is the basic level. A variety of grapes can be used for Rosé d’Anjou, including Grolleau, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay, and Côt. Similar in style to Cabernet d’Anjou but typically less sweet, Rosé d’Anjou wines must have a minimum residual sugar content of seven grams per liter. Although its production levels are considerably lower than those of Cabernet d’Anjou, the gentle, off-dry Rosé d’Anjou is a more successful style outside France: it is the most exported of the Anjou appellations, with 37% of production destined for consumption in more than 100 countries. Rosé de Loire An additional category of rosé wine covers approximately 730 hectares spread across the Anjou-Saumur and Touraine regions. Rosé de Loire is made from the same range of grapes as Cabernet d’Anjou and Rosé d’Anjou, but it is always dry, with a maximum permitted residual sugar of three grams per liter. There is no requirement to state the sweetness level on any of these wines. Anjou In addition to rosé, the generic appellation of Anjou covers red, white, and sparkling wines from grapes grown in the same large area as those destined for rosé. Anjou was once a prosperous wine region whose renown was built around sweet white wines made from Chenin Blanc. In 1881, 45,000 hectares of vines were planted, but plantings fell to 10,000 by 1893, following the phylloxera crisis. New plantings in the early 20 th century focused on Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, from which light reds known as rouget were made, but red production didn’t become the mainstay of the appellation until the 1960s. Today, around 60% of the generic Anjou appellation’s production is Anjou Rouge, made from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pineau d’Aunis, and Grolleau. Wines labeled Anjou Gamay must be 100% from the variety. While these wines are undoubtedly deeper in color than the rouget styles, they are intended for consumption within a couple of years. Click to enlarge and zoom in Chenin Blanc is the principal variety for the white wines of Anjou, which must comprise 80% or more of the variety, with an option to add Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Despite the fall in popularity of whites from Anjou, they still account for around 30% of production. At the high end, they are currently undergoing a renaissance, and consumers are increasingly seeking them out. One of the reasons for this is that several new, quality-focused producers have purchased vineyard land in appellations authorized for sweet wines only, such as Coteaux du Layon or Quarts de Chaume. Any dry white produced from these sites has the right only to the Anjou appellation, and the wines, made from 100% Chenin Blanc, are produced at yields well below the requirements for the generic appellation. A small quantity of Anjou Mousseux, accounting for only around 10% of the Anjou appellation’s production, is made from the same range of grapes (with no more than 20% Chardonnay). These bottled-fermented sparkling white or rosé wines spend at least nine months on lees before disgorgement. Anjou Brissac and Anjou-Villages Anjou Brissac and Anjou-Villages are relatively recent additions to the Anjou AOCs. Both are appellations for red wines only, made from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Anjou-Villages, an AOC since 1987, recognizes the better sites within the Anjou AOC. These sites typically have the best exposure and are earliest to ripen. Yields for Anjou-Villages are lower than those for Anjou Rouge, at 55 hectoliters per hectare, and the wines are similar in style to Anjou Rouge. Anjou Brissac, a 1998 appellation, is centered around the Aubance River area just south of Angers. It covers the same 120-hectare area as the sweet wine appellation Coteaux de l’Aubance. The rainfall here is particularly low compared with that of the surrounding area, with slightly higher elevations to the west offering protection from oceanic humidity. The vines of Anjou Brissac receive 100 millimeters less rain than the rest of the Maine-et-Loire department during the growing season, and average temperatures are higher by 1 degree Celsius. The wines of Anjou Brissac are subject to lower yields, at 50 hectoliters per hectare, and have more depth of flavor than most of the region’s reds. Coteaux du Layon Though the fortunes of Anjou-Saumur have changed over time, sweet wines made from Chenin Blanc continue to be produced in the region. The growing conditions along the Layon River, a small tributary that flows northwest through the region, joining the Loire River south of Angers, are especially favorable for production of these wines. The grapes achieve high levels of ripeness, growing on well-exposed, sunny slopes close to the river. Rainfall is low, and temperatures are so warm in places that the native vegetation is Mediterranean. The river can also help foster the perfect conditions for botrytis, which typically occurs several times a decade. Changes in taste are partly responsible for the decline in the fortunes of the sweet wines of Anjou, but, equally, increased mechanization, chaptalization, and chemical inputs in the vineyards have played a part. By the middle of the 20 th century, many of the best hillside sites around the Layon had been abandoned, considered too difficult to farm mechanically. The ability to add sugar to make wine sweet, rather than having to rely on good weather in challenging vineyards, made it possible for winegrowers to create acceptable, if not great, sweet wines from lesser, easier sites—a situation replicated in other parts of the country. The reputation of the sweet wines of the Layon declined alongside interest in drinking them. Only a very small number of producers continued to make high-quality wines. Since the mid-1980s, however, there has been a renewed energy from young producers snapping up languishing vineyards and reviving the tradition of high-end wines in the historic sites of the Layon. Recognizing that nature rarely delivers ideal conditions for making sweet wines, they have been focusing on producing dry wines as well. While raising the quality level of sweet Chenin Blanc wines, they are simultaneously creating awareness of the excellent dry wines that these vineyards can produce. Anjou-Saumur produces more sweet wine from Chenin Blanc than any other region, with eight separate appellations for sweet wine, all of which are 100% Chenin Blanc. Most of this production centers around the Layon River. The basic appellation, Coteaux du Layon AOC , covers 13 communes on both sides of the river, totaling 1,640 hectares. The appellation is solely for wines with at least 34 grams per liter of residual sugar, and permitted yields are 35 hectoliters per hectare. Coteaux du Layon Villages covers 180 hectares within the wider Coteaux du Layon appellation. Six villages—Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Faye-d’Anjou, Rablay-sur-Layon, Rochefort-sur-Loire, Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné, and Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay—can add their names to the basic appellation. To do so, yields must be slightly lower, at 30 hectoliters per hectare, and 51 grams per liter of residual sugar is required. Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume is a superior 70-hectare appellation within the commune of Rochefort-sur-Loire, where Chenin Blanc achieves higher ripeness levels. These wines will likely be sweeter than the minimum required residual sugar level of 80 grams per liter, because the sugar level at harvest needs to be higher than that of the other two appellations. The grapes in the Coteaux du Layon appellations must be harvested by hand, but chaptalization is permitted in all of them except Premier Cru Chaume. Quarts de Chaume The most prestigious of Anjou’s sweet wine appellations, and arguably the whole Loire Valley, is Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru . This is the only grand cru appellation in the Loire Valley for any style of wine. Its merit in attaining this title was hotly debated, resulting in two successful legal challenges against it, but the coveted grand cru status was finally awarded in 2011. The argument against Quarts de Chaume as a grand cru centered on the possibility that consumers would confuse the appellation with the existing Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume for reasons including the identical style of the wine, the proximity of the two vineyards (they are next to each other), and the very similar name. But it is hard to argue that the final decision was a bad one. The hill of Chaume is an exceptional site. The highest point for miles around (though it rises only 100 meters above sea level), this 40-hectare appellation sits on a bed of complex soils that include Broverian schists and pudding sandstones. The vines grow on a thin layer of clay between 25 and 75 meters above sea level, on steep, south-facing slopes overlooking the Layon River. The hill here, sheltered from north winds, follows a curve in the river, making it ideally situated for the production of sweet wines. In good years, autumnal morning mists rise uninterrupted from the river to encourage the development of botrytis in the ripe grapes. The yield requirement for Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru is 20 hl/ha, slightly lower to that of Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume, at 25 hectoliters per hectare. Minimum sweetness is similar, with Quarts de Chaume at 85 grams per liter and Coteaux du Layon Premier Cru Chaume at 80. The wines of Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru are likely to be a good deal sweeter than this, however, since the minimum required level of sugar in the Quarts de Chaume grapes at harvest is 298 grams per liter, equivalent to 18% potential ABV. In the best years, these world-renowned wines demonstrate that perfect and rare combination of site, grape variety, and human expertise, creating wines with remarkable balance and freshness that can age for decades. Bonnezeaux A little further back along the Layon toward Saumur lies Bonnezeaux AOC , another small quality appellation for sweet Chenin Blanc in the commune of Thouarcé. The appellation is just 80 hectares, with three south-facing slopes on the right (north) bank of the Layon. Yields are 25 hectoliters per hectare. Unlike Quarts de Chaume Grand Cru, but as in the greater part of the Coteaux du Layon legislation, the wines may be chaptalized. The minimum residual sugar level is 51 grams per liter, which is sweeter than basic Coteaux du Layon but below the higher-level Layon appellations. Often, the sweetness level is far higher than the minimum requirement, however, and the best of these wines can age very well. Coteaux de l’Aubance The Aubance River flows parallel to the Layon, joining the Loire slightly upstream. The Coteaux de l’Aubance AOC covers a 220-hectare area on both sides of the river. The proximity of the river supports the development of botrytis in good years. The wines, similar in style to those of Coteaux du Layon, follow very similar requirements in terms of yields (35 hectoliters per hectare) and minimum sugar levels in the finished wine (34 grams per liter). Like Coteaux du Layon wines, the best of these are good-value, medium-sweet wines. Popular locally, they are often drunk à l ’ ap é ritif and usually enjoyed in their youth. Coteaux de Saumur The last of the Anjou sweet wine appellations based on Chenin Blanc is Coteaux de Saumur . Grapes for these wines can grow over a large area of the chalky soils south of Saumur, but a mere 10 hectares are planted. The wines are fresh and medium sweet, showing the influence of the limestone soils rather than the schist-based soils of the Layon and Aubance. Yields are 35 hectoliters per hectare and grapes must be hand-picked. No chaptalization is permitted, and the final wines must have a residual sugar level of at least 34 grams per liter. Savennières Old vines in Savennières (Credit: Savennières) Savennières is a charming, tiny village situated 15 kilometers southwest of Angers. The appellation is also small, with only 150 hectares planted, all to Chenin Blanc, covering three adjoining communes on the north bank of the Loire. Though it was difficult to clear and cultivate the land, this is a natural and privileged site for vine growing. The south- and southeast-facing slopes have excellent sun exposure and ventilation from the river breezes. The number of sunshine hours is high, and rainfall is relatively low. The soils are very shallow, and the vines are never far from the rocks below. These include a wide variety of schists and volcanic rock; there are also patches of windblown sand and clay. This is Anjou Noir terrain. Yields are naturally low, and the combination of terroir and grape yields austere wines with intense texture and minerality. In more recent years, winemakers have shifted toward earlier-drinking styles, with little obvious oak use. There is also a general move to earlier picking, thus the botrytis that was a common feature of wines from Savennières in years past is avoided. The 40 or so producers within the appellation are focused on quality. All the grapes are hand-picked, and 75% of the vignerons work organically. Savennières wines attract the highest Chenin Blanc prices of all Loire Valley wines. In 2001, the vineyard was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site in recognition of its long history of winegrowing and the perfect adaptation of vine to site through the skill of generations of wine growers. The INAO has called the vineyard a symbol of la douceur a ngevine . While Savennières AOC focuses on dry wines, demi-sec and sweet wines are also permitted. In fact, when the appellation was granted, in 1952, it was recognized principally as a vineyard for the production of wines containing residual sugar. While regulations for other appellations in the region have changed to allow production of only sweet or only dry wines, the producers of Savennières have retained the right to both. Clearly, though, it is the dry wines of Savennières that have made it a famous source of quality Chenin Blanc today, along with the tiny twin jewels of Savennières Roche aux Moines (33 hectares) and Coulée de Serrant (7 hectares), each of which is a separate appellation island within Savennières. The Savennières appellation lies across a series of coulé es (valleys), among them Coulée de Serrant . This appellation straddles both sides of the valley and adjoins Savennières Roche aux Moines to the south. These two appellations have excellent exposure and particularly thin soils, and permitted yields are even lower, at 30 hectoliters per hectare for Coulée de Serrant and 35 for Roche aux Moines. The latter is a rocky outcrop of the Armorican Massif, where vines grow on south- and southwest-facing slopes overlooking the Loire. Winegrowing was recorded here as early as the 12 th century, when monks from the order of Saint-Nicolas d’Angers planted a south-facing slope overlooking the Loire that became known as La Roche aux Moines. A priory that was home to Benedictine nuns in the same period was also surrounded by vines. Coulée de Serrant can trace its origins back to 1130, when vines were planted by Cistercian monks. Arguably, there is more that unites these tiny appellations, both in terms of history and site, than divides them, and differences in style are a reflection more of the philosophy of the winemaker than of the site. Coulée de Serrant is a monopole vineyard, owned by the biodynamic zealot Nicolas Joly, who makes a very ripe style of wine, often with botrytis and residual sugar. Savennières Roche aux Moines is divided among a handful of growers, and the wines tend to reflect an earlier-picked style. Saumur The vineyards of Saumur AOC are in the extreme southwest of the Paris Basin, planted on the chalky limestone soils characteristic of the Anjou Blanc. This 2,000-hectare area forms the eastern and southern part of the Anjou-Saumur region, which joins Touraine to the east. All the Saumur vineyards are situated south of the Loire River. The climate is broadly oceanic but warmer and drier than that of the vineyards to the west. Styles of Saumur wine include reds and rosés made predominantly from Cabernet Franc, whites from Chenin Blanc, and sparkling wines, which account for more than 60% of production. Still wines were traditionally usually white, but today reds and whites each account for close to 20% of Saumur production, with a small amount of dry rosé making up the balance. Saumur Blanc still wines are dry and made from 100% Chenin Blanc. Generally easier drinking than the fuller-bodied, savory Chenin Blanc wines of the Anjou Noir appellations, they offer elegant balance and fine, linear acidity. There are some exceptional wines from single vineyards such as Brézé. Saumur red wines must be at least 70% Cabernet Franc, with the option to add Cabernet Sauvignon and Pineau d’Aunis. These wines are light and supple, intended for early consumption and often served slightly cool. Cellar dug from tuffeau (Credit: Domaine Charles Joguet) Saumur Mousseux, also known as Fines Bulles, is made using the traditional, bottle-fermented method and must be aged for at least nine months on lees, although more-complex examples are aged for years. Whites are at least 60% Chenin Blanc and rosés 60% Cabernet Franc; the wide range of other varieties used includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pineau d’Aunis, Gamay, Grolleau Gris, Grolleau Noir, and Pinot Noir. Saumur benefits from the presence of extensive cellars dug from soft tuffeau limestone, used to build the houses and châteaux of the area. The cellars, which often extend hundreds of meters underground, are ideal for aging wines at a constant temperature. These fresh and early-drinking sparklers are reliable in quality, especially from the larger producers whose cellars line the river close to the town of Saumur. Centered around the town of Saumur are many of the producers of Crémant de Loire , the broader appellation for high-quality sparkling wine that covers 2,800 hectares across a wide range of growing conditions in the Anjou-Saumur and Touraine regions. In recent years, there has been a surge in the growth of these wines, as they offer a good-value alternative to pricier bottle-fermented sparkling options. Crémant de Loire is found in blanc and rosé styles, and the permitted varieties are plentiful: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Orbois are the white varieties; reds include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grolleau Noir, Grolleau Gris, Pineau d’Aunis, and Pinot Noir. The regulations for bottle aging are the same as those for Saumur Mousseux, with a minimum of nine months on lees following a second fermentation in bottle. Permitted yields are slightly higher for Crémant de Loire (74 hectoliters per hectare) than for Saumur Mousseux (67 hectoliters per hectare), and a key difference in production is that grapes destined for crémant must be harvested by hand. Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame The geographic designation of Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame was added to Saumur AOC in 2009. It is a superior designation for a 60-hectare area centered around the small town of Le Puy-Notre-Dame, the highest point in the region, some 20 kilometers south of Saumur. These wines have higher concentration: at harvest, the grapes must have potential alcohol levels of 12%, higher than Saumur Rouge’s 10.5%. Yields are also lower (50 hectoliters per hectare versus 57 for Saumur), and the wines cannot be chaptalized. The vines are planted at around 80 meters above sea level. Composed of at least 85% Cabernet Franc, with the balance coming from Cabernet Sauvignon, these wines are deeply colored and more structured than those of Saumur. Saumur-Champigny The jewel in the Saumur crown is Saumur-Champigny AOC . This 1,600-hectare region covers nine adjoining villages on a plateau above the town of Saumur. The name derives from the Latin campus ignis (field of fire), perhaps a reference to the high temperatures in this protected location, which is bordered to the south by the forest of Fontevraud, and to the east and west by the rivers Loire and Thouet. The soil is clay and tuffeau limestone, which both provides drainage and retains moisture, creating ideal conditions for the vines to thrive. Cabernet Franc must account for at least 85% of a Saumur-Champigny wine, but this figure is almost always 100%. These wines are among the most highly regarded in the Loire Valley; the best show the elegance, freshness, fragrance, and finesse that Loire Cabernet Franc can achieve. Highly approachable when young, the wines have generous fruit and supple tannins. The finest, such as the wines of Clos Rougeard, will improve for a decade or more. Haut-Poitou The small region of Haut-Poitou , granted appellation status in 2011, covers an area of 110 hectares south of the town of Chinon. The altitude is relatively high, at up to 150 meters above sea level. Wines may be red, white, or rosé. More than 80% of production consists of whites from primarily Sauvignon Blanc, with an allowance of up to 40% Sauvignon Gris. Reds are 60% Cabernet Franc, which may be blended with Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Merlot. A small amount of rosé is made from Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, and Gamay. Haut-Poitou wines are fruit-driven and intended for early consumption largely within France. Touraine The Touraine wine region and catchall Touraine appellation begin a few miles east of the city of Saumur and continue eastward along the Loire until slightly beyond the town of Blois. The majority of the appellation’s 4,450 hectares of vineyard lie between the Loire and Cher rivers, which meet slightly west of the city of Tours. It is a vast area, comprising 143 wine villages. Touraine sits in the Paris Basin, where the diverse soils include tuffeau , sand, clay, and flint, and alluvial terraces also have deposits of gravel. The climate varies, becoming increasingly continental toward the east, with decreasing rainfall (650 millimeters annually in the west of the region versus 550 millimeters in the east). Within the Touraine region, there are many individual appellations that have been successful within and beyond France’s borders, particularly Vouvray, Chinon, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, and Bourgueil. There are several lesser-known areas that intrigue wine lovers, including the Cour-Cheverny appellation. The main grape varieties of Anjou-Saumur—Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc—are also grown in Touraine, particularly in the western half. But the primary white grape planted in the Touraine appellation is Sauvignon Blanc, at 43% of plantings (Chenin Blanc accounts for just 7%). The dominance of Sauvignon Blanc is largely a reflection of market demand; growers have planted it to replace less successful varieties. Gamay is the most planted red variety with 21% of vineyard area, followed by Cabernet Franc with 10% and Côt with 8%. While varietal wines dominate in Pays Nantais, Anjou-Saumur, and the Central Vineyards, blends are more common in the Touraine region, particularly red and rosé blends. Here, Cabernet Franc is joined by Côt, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Gamay. Click to enlarge and zoom in Viticulture in Touraine began in the first century CE with the introduction of the vine by the Romans. Wine was first consumed locally, then boosted by the arrival of the royal court and the 1577 law banning the sale of wine made within the Paris region. Notable wine villages today, including Vouvray and Chinon, were largely unknown until the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Over time, demand grew for wines that could be transported along the many waterways to the country’s capital. By the mid-19 th century, it was calculated that two-thirds of Touraine’s wine production was drunk outside the region. Despite the positive reputation of Vouvray, Touraine reds were primarily seen as a good blending partner because of their deep color rather than their intrinsic qualities. Internationally, Touraine AOC is viewed as a source of good-value white wines compared with Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. In an effort to improve Touraine's reputation, five small denominations have emerged within the AOC, collectively accounting for just 7% of Touraine’s production. Touraine Oisly is a small, 12-producer appellation focused solely on lees-aged Sauvignon Blanc grown on sand and clay, with rounded styles most typical. The largest of the five denominations is Touraine Chenonceaux, whose white wines, made exclusively from Sauvignon Blanc, are produced on well-draining slopes along the Cher River. Yields for Chenonceaux are stricter than those for Touraine AOC (60 hectoliters per hectare versus 65). The wines must be approved by a tasting panel. Gentle, fruity red blends, which must be between 65% and 80% Côt with a minimum 10% Cabernet Franc, are also permitted under Touraine Chenonceaux. In Touraine-Amboise, Touraine-Azay-le-Rideau, and Touraine-Mesland, Chenin Blanc is the dominant white grape. In Touraine-Mesland, Chenin Blanc can be blended with a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. There are less than a dozen producers in this small appellation, and very little wine is exported. The soils are flinty sands. A small amount of rosé and red is made using Gamay and Cabernet Franc. Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and Bourgueil Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and Bourgueil are contiguous AOCs on the north bank of the Loire River. Both allow red and rosé styles, with Cabernet Franc dominating the final wines, though rosé accounts for only a small percentage of production. Both also require the same maximum yield (55 hectoliters per hectare). Many local producers have vineyards in both appellations and suggest that the creation of two appellations was driven more by politics than terroir. Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil (1,069 hectares), which is centered on the village of the same name, is slightly smaller than Bourgueil (1,220 hectares), to the east, which comprises six villages, including Bourgueil itself. The river is south of both appellations’ vineyards, and they are protected from cold northerly winds by a forested hilltop. The finest, most ageworthy wines are made from the vineyards that slope upward toward this forest on tuffeau -clay soils. At the bottom of this hillside, there is a large terrace dominated by well-drained sandy-gravel soils, which yields lighter-bodied, earlier-drinking wine styles in both appellations. Most of Saint-Nicolas’s vineyards and just half of Bourgueil’s sit on this alluvial terrace. The rest of Bourgueil’s vineyards are on the chalky-clay soils of the hillsides, contributing to this appellation’s greater reputation for rich yet elegant styles that can be drunk at two years, with some examples drinking well beyond two decades. Saint-Nicolas also has around 100 hectares of vineyard near the river on silty-gravel soils, further contributing to the region’s production of easy-drinking, fruity wines. A Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil and a Bourgueil grown on the same sandy-gravel terrace, however, are difficult to differentiate in a blind tasting. It is easier to distinguish two Bourgueil wines sourced from different soil types. Viticultural challenges in this area include frost, particularly on the flatter terraces; the slopes are less affected. Since the early 1990s, the producers of Saint-Nicolas have been working collectively to minimize frost damage, purchasing frost fans and installing sprinkler systems. Following a severe frost in 2016, the project was enlarged. At a cost of €2 million, an area of about 420 hectares, or two-fifths of the appellation, now relies on the appellation-financed frost protection systems. In the summer months, drought has been increasingly common, and those on the well-draining alluvial terraces suffer most. Irrigation is not permitted per EU rules. On the chalky-clay slopes, the vines are better able to withstand dry spells, but erosion can be a problem, particularly with storms and erratic weather conditions caused by climate change. Cover crops are often planted between the rows to reduce damage. The cooler nature of the clay-chalk soils generally means the picking begins later in these areas than in the vineyards of sandy-gravel soils, which heat up quickly. In the winery, grapes tend to be vinified according to soil. The sandy-gravel soils typically yield lighter, fruity styles; to emphasize these qualities, winemakers will ferment the grapes at cooler temperatures and extract gently to make an easy-drinking, light-in-tannin wine with little oak influence. Fermentation temperatures are likely to be a couple of degrees higher for the grapes sourced from the clay-chalk hillside, with longer maceration times and maturation in oak barrel. Chinon Chinon , located south of the Loire River, is the Loire Valley’s largest red-producing appellation. Uniquely, Chinon also allows for white and rosé wine production. The region began exporting wine via the port of Nantes in the 18 th century, and that early wine was most likely white, as demanded by Dutch traders. Today, Chinon continues to produce white wines from Chenin Blanc, but there are only 74 hectares planted, equivalent to just 3% of production. The vineyards of Chinon now cover 2,397 hectares of land, but when the region attained AOC status, in 1937, there were just 550 hectares of vines. At that time and into the next decade, it was still rebuilding its vineyards after phylloxera, Prussian occupation (1870–1871), and German occupation during World War II, and growing crops for food was more important than making wine. Today, two in five wine producers also grow other crops. From the confluence of the Vienne and Loire Rivers, Chinon’s vineyards extend southeast for more than 25 kilometers, encompassing 26 villages, from Savigny-en-Véron in the west to Crouzilles in the east, with the picturesque town of Chinon at the center. Vineyards sit on both sides of the Vienne, most on the north bank, where plantings reach an altitude of about 100 meters. There are many different exposures, including some north-facing vineyards on the south bank of the Vienne. View of Chinon from Clos du Chêne Vert (Credit: Domaine Charles Joguet) While as many as 50 different soil types were identified in a 1978 university thesis by Jacky Dupont, Chinon is best understood by its three main soils. First, alluvial terraces made of sand, silt, and river gravels can be found on lower, flatter lands close to the river, as well as in the wedge of the appellation where the Loire and Vienne meet, in western Chinon. Known as the Véron peninsula, this area has highly sandy soils that are free draining and warm up quickly, making vines in this part of the appellation early to bud and early to ripen. The second soil is tuffeau mixed with clay, found on the coteaux (hillsides), where the vineyards rise upward, away from the river and the valley floor. Here, the limestone is yellow, unlike the white chalks of Saumur. The coteaux run almost continuously from Chinon to Avon-les-Roches, nearly 20 kilometers. This is where many of the appellation’s most prized vineyards, such as Le Clos de l’Olive, Le Chêne Vert, and La Croix Boissée, are located. If there were grand cru vineyards in Chinon, the vast majority would be at these sites, which produce the most elegant, densely concentrated, chalky-textured, and ageworthy Cabernet Franc. Chinon’s third terroir is generally found at the top of the hillsides, where sand and clay mix with flint; it is also found on the hillocks, known as puys, found in the Véron peninsula. These soils, while not considered as prestigious as the clay-limestone of the coteaux , also yield high-quality wines. The climate in Chinon is influenced by nearby bodies of water: the Atlantic Ocean and the confluence of the Vienne and Loire Rivers. It is mild, with a warm summer, a high number of sunshine hours, and relatively low rainfall. Climate change is bringing challenges, however, with drought occurring more often. A lack of water particularly affects vines on the free-draining sandy-gravel soils, where moisture is not readily retained. Spring frosts and hail have wiped out some growers’ crops entirely in recent years. As a result, the maximum yield of 55 hectoliters per hectare is rarely reached. There is a focus on quality, and 45% of the vineyard area is either organic or in conversion, according to the appellation. As in Bourgueil, the wines of Chinon are generally vinified by terroir. The grapes picked from the sandy-gravel soils are suited to making fresh, fruity, unoaked wines. They are often machine harvested, fermented in inert vessels, macerated for a brief period, and bottled relatively early for consumption in the short term (two to five years). Meanwhile, the finest fruit sourced from the clay-limestone coteaux is hand-picked, gently extracted, treated to a long maceration, and fermented and aged in some oak, with a proportion of new wood. Around half of the producers use up to 25% new wood, and just 5% use a high proportion (75% to 100%). These wines are seriously concentrated, offering fragrant red and black fruit (depending on the vintage), an elegant mouthfeel, and a fine line of tension. Cabernet Franc is prone to reduction, and producers can manage this tendency by using regular racking to introduce oxygen to avoid off-flavors. Most Chinon producers make a rosé, a practice that has increased in recent years because of market demand. Only a small number of producers make their rosé from direct pressing exclusively; more often, winemakers employ the saigné e method or a combination of techniques. The color of the resulting wines is often salmon pink, with red fruit, floral, and citrus notes combining to make a refreshing style. The relatively obscure Chenin Blanc from Chinon is made in a variety of different styles, generally yielding wines with subtle orchard fruit, supple texture, and refreshing acidity. Vouvray Winemaking in the famed appellation of Vouvray , situated on the outskirts of Tours, is thought to have begun in the fourth century, though the wines didn’t enjoy export success until much later. In the 17 th century, the Dutch started to export Vouvray, which became more popular as new transport links—first the canals, then the railways—opened new markets. By the mid-19 th century, Vouvray was the shining star of the Touraine wine region, gaining international recognition. Yet in 1848, a study showed that most of its wines were still considered fairly ordinary: 7% of the vineyards were classified as first class, 7% as second class, and the rest (86%) as “very ordinary.” While many winegrowers replanted with hybrids after the arrival of phylloxera, in 1882, Chenin Blanc was most successful. In the early 20 th century, wine adulteration was widespread. In the absence of appellation laws, still white wines from the Loire were transported to Reims and Épernay, where they were made into sparkling wines and labeled as Champagne. There were also unscrupulous dealers in the Loire who were mislabeling their poor-quality whites as Vouvray, which by this time had developed a good reputation. In 1923, locals threatened to take an entire village of producers to court for misusing the Vouvray name. The appellation system aimed to remedy the issues of wine fraud, and in 1936 Vouvray became a white wine appellation based on Chenin Blanc (with the little-known Orbois contributing a maximum of 5% to the blend). Tuffeau limestone is the basis of Vouvray. Some vineyards sit almost directly on the limestone, but most have a topsoil of clay or flint, or both, in varying proportions. The slopes are referred to as premi è res c ô tes, where the topsoil is clay-flint, a soil known locally as perruches . Grapes grown here are used for the best wines, which are the most delicate and fine—although it’s difficult for an outsider to pinpoint where the c ô tes begin and end. On the rolling plateau, the deeper, clay-rich topsoils create a cooler, damper environment, and thus the grapes take longer to ripen and may not attain the same level of ripeness as those on the c ô tes . As a result, many of the grapes grown on the plateau are destined for base wines for sparkling Vouvray, which requires a potential alcohol of just 9.5% compared with 11% for still wine. The premi è res c ô tes receive better sun exposure, and the topsoil is thinner, allowing the vines to reach the limestone more easily. There are many shades of Vouvray, from sparkling to still, dry to botrytized, and everything in between. And within each category, there are many nuances. For example, very dry styles (less than two grams of residual sugar per liter) are very much in vogue. Dry styles are more popular than sweeter styles, but they can be lean and flinty or richly ripe and oaked, depending on the site, the season, and the producer. Sparkling wines also vary, from high-yielding, machine-harvested, traditional method fizz destined for supermarkets to hand-picked, small-batch, ancestral method cuv é es . Although 60% of Vouvray production is sparkling wine, it is rarely seen in export markets: 9 out of 10 bottles of sparkling Vouvray are consumed in France, while 2 out of 3 bottles of still Vouvray are shipped overseas. Traditionally, Vouvray producers attempted to make all styles, from dry to sweet, in the same year and sometimes from the same vines, achieved by making several passes through the vineyard during the harvest period. This was not possible, however, when the grapes did not ripen enough to make sweet styles, and thus these wines were highly prized in part for their rarity. But climate change has made it possible to achieve higher levels of ripeness more consistently and produce sweet wines annually. Improved ripeness levels and lower acidity levels also make the production of balanced dry whites much easier; there is no need for sugar to hide very high levels of acidity or harsh phenolics. In some warmer years, like 2018 and 2020, grape sugars can rise quickly, creating wines that have potential alcohol levels above 14% or even 14.5%, which are more suited to demi-sec styles than unbalanced, high-alcohol, sec styles. The cool 2021 season also produced many dry Vouvray wines that would have benefited from more residual sugar to counter their bracing acidity. The maximum permitted residual sugar for a Vouvray sec is 8 grams per liter (the level can be adjusted depending on the acidity content). Some producers claim that only dry Vouvray can provide a true expression of site; others fiercely disagree, claiming that there are no other places in the world that can make demi-sec or moelleux Chenin Blanc with such harmony and finesse. Falling between sec and demi-sec styles is sec tendre, an unofficial but widely used term for wines with a subtle sweetness that rounds out the midpalate and contributes texture. Montlouis-sur-Loire The Montlouis-sur-Loire AOC sits on the south side of the Loire River, opposite Vouvray on the north bank. It is a much smaller appellation, with just 442 hectares of vines compared with Vouvray’s 2,234 hectares. Its size is limited by the Cher River to the south, sandwiching the vineyard between two rivers. Vines have been grown here since the fifth century CE, but the wines were long sold under the name Vouvray. Like Vouvray, Montlouis-sur-Loire is an appellation for white wine only, making both still and sparkling Chenin Blanc. In addition to traditional method sparkling wines, the appellation includes a pétillant category, for delicately sparkling wines (1.5 to 2 bars), and since 2020 the cahier des charges has incorporated pétillant naturel. Vin Mousseux á Fermentation Unique, produced from just one fermentation, must spend a minimum of nine months on lees and must be disgorged, which is not always the case with pét-nat. In the Montlouis vineyards, the planting density is very similar to that of Vouvray, while the yields (52 hectoliters per hectare for still, 65 hectoliters per hectare for sparkling) are identical. Montlouis also produces the full range of styles, from dry to sweet. The vineyards of Montlouis, however, either sit on a plateau or face the Cher rather than the Loire, and the topsoils are mainly a blend of clay and flint. The bedrock is yellow limestone from the Turonian era. Montlouis has a high percentage of young producers because of the lower cost of land compared with that of Vouvray. Almost half the producers farm organically and hand-harvest. Some producers have vineyards in Vouvray, but, as the law states that Vouvray must be vinified in Vouvray, those with cellars only in Montlouis must label their wines as Vin de France. Cheverny The Cheverny appellation was created in 1993, but the area has long made wine: there are records of vineyards dating back to the Middle Ages, and Cheverny’s viticultural importance increased following the 1577 law forbidding the sale of wine made in the region around Paris. It now covers 650 hectares south and east of the city of Blois. Cheverny wines are always blends: the whites are made predominantly from Sauvignon Blanc, with Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, or Orbois. For the reds, Pinot Noir must account for 60% to 85% of a blend, with Gamay or, occasionally, Cabernet Franc or Côt included. The vineyards grow on alluvial soils. The white wines tend to be aromatic, fresh, and round, while the reds are typically fresh, fruity, and easy to drink. Cour-Cheverny The unique 50-hectare Cour-Cheverny appellation produces white wine from Romorantin. Grown here on alluvial soils of sand with either clay or gravel, Romorantin vines produce small berries and are relatively productive. The variety is high in acidity and can often be surprisingly full in body. The wines are typically dry, but late-harvest sweet wines are occasionally produced. Some of the best wines are made from old, ungrafted vines. Jasnières Jasnières is a small (70-hectare) appellation exclusively for Chenin Blanc, located 50 kilometers north of Tours on the Loir River. In this cool enclave, the grapes can ripen only because of their favorable position on southeast-facing slopes above the river. A forest to the north protects the vines from cold winds. Jasnières has a reputation for very steely, firm wines that can take years—even decades—to evolve. Climate change, however, may increase fruit maturity, helping make the wines more accessible in their youth. When conditions permit, botrytized wines can be made. Coteaux du Vendômois Sitting along the banks of the Loir River, the 120-hectare Coteaux du Vendômois AOC is named after the town of Vendôme. Chenin Blanc is the white variety of choice, with up to 20% Chardonnay permitted, but the most distinctive aspect of this appellation is its use of Pineau d’Aunis to make both its reds and vins gris . The variety typically yields pale-hued wines that are light, vivacious, and peppery. Central Vineyards Sancerre The likely birthplace of Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre yields wines that provide the benchmark for the variety around the world. A two-hour drive south of Paris, Sancerre is a bucolic hilltop town, voted France’s favorite village in 2021. The appellation radiates outward from Sancerre and comprises 16 villages and hamlets, covering just shy of 3,000 hectares on the west (left) bank of the Loire River. Click to enlarge and zoom in It is thought that vines were first planted in the area around the second century CE in the neighboring village of Saint-Satur, then known as Gordona. Vines were again recorded by Grégoire of Tours in 582. Sancerre wines likely became more famous when Etienne I (1133–1190), the Count of Sancerre, also held the role of France’s grand bouteiller (grand butler), whose duties included sourcing the royal wine supply. Sauvignon Blanc, then referred to as Sauvignon Fumé, was first recorded as growing in Sancerre and Pouilly in 1783, and the area became known for its fine white wines, particularly those from the village of Chavignol. Following phylloxera, large swaths of the vineyard area were replanted with Chasselas, a lucrative table grape that was much desired in Paris, as well as Gamay. But Chasselas was not considered a quality wine grape, and farmers started experimenting with Sauvignon Blanc. In 1936, the Sancerre appellation was created exclusively for Sauvignon Blanc wines, and in 1959 red and rosé wines made solely from Pinot Noir were incorporated into the appellation. Today, Sancerre is an export-focused appellation. In 2020, exports totaled 82,147 hectoliters, worth €84.36 million. This is equivalent to €10.27 per liter, while Loire whites sold for, on average, €6.95 per liter. The premium on Sancerre is linked to supply and demand as well as the elevated price of land. The appellation of Sancerre rises from the river valley, culminating in La Cuesta, the town’s highest point, at 356 meters altitude. The appellation’s main divide runs through the hillside village from which it takes its name. The Sancerre and Thauvenay fault lines run north-south, with the land on the eastern side of the faults cascading toward the river. Here, flinty clay is the main soil type. West of both the town of Sancerre and these fault lines, the vineyards mainly sit at elevations between 200 and 300 meters and are planted on a rolling landscape. There are many different exposures, from north to south and east to west. The hills reveal layers of sedimentary rock, which have shifted and eroded over hundreds of millions of years. But the bedrock is generally Jurassic limestone, whether Kimmeridgian, Portlandian, or even Oxfordian. There are three main soil types in Sancerre. Terres blanches, named for the white appearance of the soils in the summer sunshine, are Kimmeridgian marls, which consist of clay and limestone. The word c aillottes (or griottes ) refers to limestone pebbles of differing sizes. The third soil, silex , is rich in flint and found mostly on the eastern slopes of Sancerre. T erres blanches are relatively cool, and grapes take longer to ripen on these soils than on caillottes . Sancerre grown on Kimmeridgian marls tends to be more complex and fuller bodied, while caillottes typically produce more open, fruity wines. Silex generally yields powerful, firm, and even lightly bitter styles. It is common for producers to blend grapes from different sites to create their main white Sancerre cuv é es . Michel Redde’s Barre à Mine vineyard in Pouilly-Fumé with a view toward the hilltop town of Sancerre (Credit: Rebecca Gibb) Since the 1990s, there has also been a rise in single-vineyard cuv é es and terroir cuv é es , which seek to express one of more than 400 lieux-dits or a specific soil type. It is increasingly common to find a vineyard name—for example, Le Chêne Marchand or Les Monts Damnés—on a Sancerre label. The name of a soil, such as terres blanches , might also appear. While it is doubtful that Sancerre drinkers are as interested in terroir as Burgundy lovers, Catherine Petrie’s Master of Wine research paper noted that both single-vineyard and terroir wines attracted a significant premium compared with a domaine’s classic, typically larger-volume white Sancerre. In his book Les t erroirs s ancerrois , Thibaut Boulay, a Sancerre vigneron and professor of history at Tours University, provides evidence that the term climat was recorded in Sancerre several centuries before the Burgundians documented it. Sancerre’s production is overwhelmingly focused on white wine, which accounts for 85% of the appellation’s production. Red wine represents around 10% of Sancerre’s production, with rosé accounting for 5%. Yet Pinot Noir has a long history in Sancerre. According to John the Magnificent (1340–1416), the duke of Auvergne and Berry, which included Sancerre, the area’s Pinot Noir wines were “the best in the kingdom.” They were also a favorite of Louis XVI (1754–1793). In 1816, the Paris wine merchant André Jullien published Topographie de tous les vignobles connus, arguably the first modern wine guide, and noted that Sancerre “is surrounded by vineyards that produce [red] wines with good color, moderate alcohol and a good taste.” Pinot Noir was the main variety and remained dominant until phylloxera wiped out the vineyards. White varieties were favored during the replanting phase, and in 1936 Sauvignon Blanc became the sole grape of the Sancerre appellation. Red and rosé wines made from Pinot Noir joined the appellation 23 years later. Fruit and freshness are key components in red Sancerre, but the range of styles is diverse. Although red Sancerre was once seen as a lowly brasserie wine, there are now fine, ageworthy examples. Pinot Noir vineyards are planted on both sides of Sancerre’s fault lines, making both limestone- and flint-based expressions, as well as on different exposures with varying clones. In the winery, there are myriad choices that can be made to yield a desired style. Winemakers often amend their approaches depending on the season’s fruit. It is clear that climate change has contributed to increasingly ripe, red styles that have the structure for oak maturation, while greater fruit maturity also enables a higher percentage of whole clusters to be used, if desired. There is a trend toward less extraction across the whole Loire Valley, producing less tannic, drying styles. Rosé Sancerre must be dry and produced solely from Pinot Noir, and the wines are generally a pale salmon hue. The saigné e method is used most often, although Alphonse Mellot’s Vingt Mille Pieds Sous Sancerre is a serious rosé, made from vines planted at the incredibly high density of 20,000 vines per hectare. Pouilly-Fumé The Pouilly-Fumé AOC is located at the midpoint of the Loire River. Sitting on the eastern (right) bank of the river, opposite Sancerre, this smaller appellation (1,333 hectares) is less prestigious than Sancerre and lacks some of its romantic allure. Today, Pouilly-Fumé focuses exclusively on still, dry white wines produced from Sauvignon Blanc, but it is believed that grapes have been grown here since at least the fifth century CE. According to the appellation’s cahier de s charges, the vineyard area boomed under the stewardship of Benedictine monks, and the opening of the Briare Canal in 1642 connected the thirsty Parisian market to Pouilly-Fumé’s winemakers. When the railway arrived in the mid-19 th century, travel time to Paris was significantly reduced, and there was great demand for table grapes, which led to widespread planting of Chasselas. Following the devastation of phylloxera, Sauvignon Blanc became the area’s signature variety, frequently blended with Chasselas. While plantings of Chasselas remain, the variety has its own appellation: Pouilly-sur-Loire. Typically, Chasselas ripens 7 to 10 days before Sauvignon Blanc. There are seven villages within Pouilly-Fumé’s borders, including Pouilly and the highest point, Saint-Andelain, which is home to its most famous producer, Domaine Didier Dagueneau (although its wines have been labeled as Vin de France since the 2017 vintage). The name Pouilly-Fumé results from Sauvignon Blanc’s historic local name, Blanc Fumé de Pouilly, literally, “smoked white of Pouilly.” The name was given not because of the wine’s flavor but because the berries developed a harmless, smoke-colored bloom at maturity. Pouilly-Fumé runs for about 20 kilometers along the river and has a variety of soils. Around the village of Saint-Andelain, home to Dagueneau’s famed Silex cuv é e , the soil composition is predominantly flint-clay. Around the unassuming village of Pouilly-sur-Loire, clay-limestone Kimmeridgian marls peppered with oyster shells are common. In these cooler soils, grapes ripen later and yield rounded, fuller-bodied wines that are typically longer lived. The vineyards in the northeast of the appellation are more likely to be planted on the limestone pebbles known as caillottes and make earlier-drinking, fruiter wines, as in Sancerre. In general, Pouilly-Fumé producers start harvest a few days after Sancerre. Many Pouilly-Fumé producers own or rent vineyards in Sancerre. It is no easy task to distinguish one appellation from the other, even for locals. Two wines grown on flint, in Pouilly and in Sancerre, may have more in common than two Sancerre wines tasted side by side. Pouilly-sur-Loire There are just 30 hectares of Chasselas planted in Pouilly-sur-Loire AOC , and the grape is used to make nonaromatic, dry white wines. Chasselas is an early ripening, vigorous variety and was favored in the past for its reliable and abundant crops. It was used as a table grape for the Parisian food market and was highly profitable in the late 1800s. According to Jacky Rigaux’s Pouilly-Fum é: Jewel of the Loire Valley (2009) , 3,000 metric tonnes of grapes were shipped from the station of Pouilly in 1865 alone. But after the railway’s extension to warm southern France, Paris no longer wanted Pouilly’s grapes, and the region returned to wine production. There are no producers specializing in the wines of Pouilly-sur-Loire, though a few fine Pouilly-Fumé producers, such as Michel Redde and Jonathan Pabiot, focus on making Chasselas wines of concentration and character through low yields and careful attention in the vineyard. Other Regions Surrounding the Loire’s twin star appellations of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are a further five AOC regions and two IGPs, which can provide good-value alternatives to the wines of their more renowned neighbors, often in a similar style. While Sauvignon Blanc is by far the most planted grape, red and rosé still wines are also made. These regions are small; all together, they account for only 25% of the production of the Central Vineyards area, while Pouilly-Fumé is at 25% and Sancerre at 50%. Lacking the international cachet of Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé, relatively few of these wines are exported. Menetou-Salon The Mentetou-Salon vineyard area forms a continuation of that of Sancerre, spreading southwest, away from the Loire, toward the city of Bourges. The most significant of the satellite appellations, it covers 627 hectares across 10 villages. Vines grow on Portlandian and Kimmeridgian limestone soils, and production mirrors Sancerre in style. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are the only permitted varieties for whites, reds, and rosés, and whites dominate. The vineyards around the charming village of Morogues, in the heart of the appellation, are densely planted on gently rolling hills interspersed with trees and hedges, and there is visible biodiversity. Menetou-Salon has more organic vineyards than any other appellation in the Central Vineyards. The hills are somewhat lower than those of Sancerre, so vines suffer less stress and grapes typically ripen a week earlier. Menetou-Salon wines are less austere than those grown closer to the Loire River, but they can be equally long lived. Quincy Southwest of Bourges, the vineyards of Quincy and Reuilly are clustered around two Loire tributaries. The Quincy vineyard is 332 hectares and entirely devoted to Sauvignon Blanc. The vines grow almost wholly on the left bank of the Cher, on an ancient terrace of sand-based soils with gravel, clay, and silt. The climate is cool, humid, and prone to frost, but crop losses from frosts these days are minimal, thanks to the farsighted co-operative investment of the vignerons of Quincy, who purchased 66 wind machines back in 2000. Because the appellation’s vineyards are so concentrated, nearly all are covered by the fans, a boon to Quincy growers in years like 2021, when the whole of France suffered enormous losses from frost. Quincy wines are popular in France, and with good reason. They are assertive and fruity, with a zesty freshness. Reuilly The 289-hectare appellation of Reuilly sits just southwest of Quincy, in the valley of the Arnon River. The landscape here is different from that of surrounding areas, with scattered parcels of vines far outnumbered by fields of cereal crops, and with sweeping vistas punctuated by wind turbines. The land is lower, and this, combined with hot, dry summers, leads to earlier harvests than in Quincy. Around half of the production is Sauvignon Blanc, and the warmer conditions produce rounder, softer whites than those of Quincy. Reuilly was granted appellation status for reds and rosés in 1961. Today, the region produces some light red wines from Pinot Noir and, perhaps most notably, pale, aromatic rosés ( vins gris ) from Pinot Gris, a rare variety in the Loire Valley. Coteaux du Giennois The Coteaux du Giennois extends across a narrow, 50-kilometer strip on the right bank of the Loire, but vines cover less than 200 hectares of this area. Named after the city of Gien to the north, the vineyards are concentrated mostly in the far south, close to the Pouilly-Fumé appellation. A relatively recent appellation, Coteaux du Giennois graduated from VDQS to AOC in 1998. Vines are planted on south- and southwest-facing flint and limestone hills, some facing Sancerre across the river. The climate is a little cooler than that of Sancerre, more like neighboring Pouilly-Fumé. Whites from Sauvignon Blanc account for 70% of production, offering early-drinking, fresh wines with varietal typicity. Reds and rosés can be light and elegant, made from blends of Pinot Noir and Gamay. Côtes de la Charité The Central Vineyards region has two small IGPs, both formerly classified as Vin de Pays and both on the right bank of the Loire. Côtes de la Charité IGP covers 50 hectares south of Pouilly, in a largely wooded area on calcareous clay soils. Slightly more white wine than red is produced, from Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. Pinot Noir is grown for reds, and a little rosé is also made. Coteaux de Tannay Coteaux de Tannay is an IGP of just 25 hectares east of the main Coteaux du Giennois vineyard area. A range of grapes are grown on calcareous soils. White wines dominate, made from Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Melon B, Pinot Gris, and Auxerrois. Reds, based on Pinot Noir and Gamay, account for 25% of production. A small amount of rosé is also made. Orléans Created in 2006, Orléans AOC includes vineyards on both banks of the Loire around the city of Orléans and is distinctive for its use of Pinot Meunier. This 60-hectare appellation makes red, white, and rosé styles, predominantly on sandy-gravel soils south of the river, with a small portion on the chalky north bank. In both the rosé and red wines, Pinot Meunier must compose a majority of the blend. The whites, which are generally early drinking, are Chardonnay dominant, with a small amount of Pinot Gris permitted. Orléans-Cléry The 20-hectare red wine appellation Orléans-Cléry sits southwest of the city of Orléans on the right bank of the Loire. Produced solely from Cabernet Franc on sandy-gravel terraces, the wines are light in body and gently spiced. Central France Most wine maps of the Loire Valley show a vineyard that starts in the middle of France, at Sancerre. But by the time the Loire River has reached this point, it has already flowed halfway along its course. The Loire’s source is in the Massif Central, a volcanic region far from the tourist hordes and fairy-tale castles of Touraine and Anjou. Geographically closer to Burgundy than most of the other Loire vineyards (on a clear day the vineyards of the Mâconnais are visible from the Côte Roannaise), the upper Loire focuses on a set of grape varieties also influenced by Burgundy: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Gamay. Even so, the winemakers consider themselves firmly part of the Loire. These far-flung pockets of vines may be hidden away, but they are arguably some of the most dynamic appellations in the Loire Valley, a region usually known more for its storied traditions than its novelty value. This area is comparatively very recently established, with the Loire Volcanique growers’ association formed in late 2019 and the oldest appellation dating to 1994, and the winemakers are driven by youthful enthusiasm. Even the soils are young here, at not even a million years old. Four appellations make up the Central France region: Saint-Pourçain, Côtes d’Auvergne, Côtes du Forez, and Côte Roannaise. There are two IGP denominations as well, IGP d’Urfé and IGP Puy de Dôme. Saint-Pourçain The Saint-Pourçain vineyards extend across 600 hectares in a rural and picturesque region of small fields, hedgerows, wildflowers, and Charolais cows, all centered around the town of Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule. Formerly a VDQS, it was granted appellation status in 2009. The vines grow in an area that is 30 kilometers from north to south, just west of the Allier, a Loire tributary. Soils are sandy, with islands of granite, and a band of clay-limestone runs down the center of the appellation. Wines of all colors are made here. Rosés are 100% Gamay, while reds must be blends of Pinot Noir and Gamay. Whites are from Chardonnay and Tressallier (also known as Sacy), a variety grown almost nowhere else and of which the locals are particularly proud. The requirement to blend it with Chardonnay has led some of the more independently minded growers to make 100% Tressallier as Vin de France. This unique, appealing wine sells quickly, with no apparent need of an appellation to endorse it. Côtes d’Auvergne An hour’s drive south of Saint-Pourçain is Côtes d’Auvergne , an appellation granted in 2010. Located mostly south of the industrial city of Clermont-Ferrand, it was an important winegrowing area encompassing thousands of hectares in the years before phylloxera. Now, it is just 350 hectares. The soil is volcanic here: the conic remnants of the Puy mountain chain loom all around. In some of the best vineyards, such as Corent, which is itself an old volcano, vines grow directly on volcanic ash deposits. Corent is one of the five crus of the appellation and is authorized only for production of rosé. The other four—Boudes, Madargue, Chanturgue, and Châteaugay—are authorized solely for red. All reds and rosés of the Côtes d’Auvergne are made from Gamay, possibly with a minority percentage of Pinot Noir; whites must be 100% Chardonnay. The wines are generally light and refreshing in style, with the fruit grown at altitudes of 350 to 550 meters above sea level. Côtes du Forez East of the Côtes d’Auvergne and across the Forez mountains are the remaining two vineyards of the upper Loire. Both are a short distance from the Loire, which flows north and is situated east of the vineyards. The more southerly of the two appellations is Côtes du Forez , an AOC of 150 hectares, granted in 2000. The appellation is for reds and rosés only, from 100% Gamay. Some producers grow varieties as varied as Roussanne, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Syrah, bottled under the IGP d’Urfé label. There are also red wines made from Gamaret, a Swiss-derived cross between Gamay and Reichensteiner that is usefully less susceptible to rot than Gamay. Côte Roannaise North of Côtes du Forez is the 215-hectare Côte Roannaise , a growing area with a 25-kilometer stretch of east-facing vineyards in the foothills of the Madeleine mountains, 400 to 500 meters above sea level. An AOC since 1994, this is Gamay country. The appellation is for reds and rosés only, made exclusively from Gamay. Like its sister appellation to the south, it is also home to a wide range of grapes made into IGP d’Urfé wines. The preferred clone is Gamay Saint-Romain, which has a conveniently upright growth habit and smaller berries than the Gamay of nearby Beaujolais, as well as a distinctly peppery quality. Producers here are using it to make serious and attention-worthy wines. Bibliography Asselin, Christian, Loïc Bienassis, Marie-Luce Demonet, François de Izarra, Alain Lecomte, Jean-Max Manceau, Laurence Peydro, Olivier Poussier, Muriel Roudaut, and Marie-Ève Scheffer. Chinon: Voyage au pays de Rabelais . Encyclopédies du Voyage. Gallimard, 2017. 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Togographie de tous les vignobles connus . . . suivie d ’une classification générale des vins . Paris: Mme Huzard and L. Colas, 1816. https://wellcomecollection.org/works/yqjenk6g . “Le prix des terres .” Accessed August 31, 2022. https://www.le-prix-des-terres.fr/carte/vigne/ . Leturcq, Samuel , and Lammoglia, Adrien. “La viticulture en Touraine (Moyen Âge –XXe siècle) : Dynamiques spatiales et commerciales du vignoble. ” Histoire et sociétés rurales 49 (2018): 31 –75 . https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01965661 . Loire Valley Wines . https://www.vinsvaldeloire.fr/en . Loire Valley Wines Economic Report 2021 . Accessed August 7, 2022. https://loirevalleywine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/vins-val-de-loire-chiffres-cles-eco-2021-EN.pdf . Neethling, Etienne, Gerard Barbeau, Herve Quenol , and Cyril Bonnefoy. “Évolution du climat et de la composition des raisins des principaux cépages cultivés dans le Val de Loire.” Climatologie 8 (2011 ): 79 –92. https://doi.org/10.4267/climatologie.323 . Rigaux, Jacky. Pouilly-Fum é: Jewel of the Loire Valley . Terres en Vues , 2009. Robinson, Jancis, Julia Harding, and Jos é Vouillamoz. Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours . New York: Ecco/HarperCollins, 2012. Sorcelle, Laurent . Sancerre: Terre et vins d’ enchant ement . Editions l’Arcande, 2013 . Wilson, James E. Terroir: The Role of Geology, Climate, and Culture in the Making of French Wines . Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999. Compiled by MW Rebecca Gibb and MW Beverley Blanning (November 2022) Edited by Stacy Ladenburger and Sandra BanPreviewhttps://www.guildsomm.com/public_content/features/b/announcements/posts/new-maps-germany-and-spainThu, 15 Oct 2026 14:15:00 GMT8277e151-5ba9-4335-93f0-6f497ffb8dc4:2ea1aed8-bb36-4184-94d2-03a81aee1ecfGuildSomm AdminOur latest map release is here! Find new topographic and outline maps for Spain, Rioja, and the Mosel, Pfalz, and Rheingau regions of Germany in our maps section . The Spain map shows the country's autonomous communities and DO regions, and the Rioja map focuses on subzones and villages. For Germany, you'll see the primarily villages in each of these regions. Expect to see more map releases like this one in the coming months!https://www.guildsomm.com/public_content/features/podcasts/b/guild_podcasts/posts/glassware-with-max-riedelWed, 14 Oct 2026 16:10:00 GMT8277e151-5ba9-4335-93f0-6f497ffb8dc4:2e29321e-6194-447a-801a-988d1b1d11b0GuildSomm AdminIn this episode of GuildSomm: Into the Glass, host and Master Sommelier Chris Tanghe speaks with Maximilian Riedel, the current steward of RIEDEL The Wine Glass Company, to discuss the evolution of the wine glass, misconceptions around glass design, and the importance of decanting. Maximilian is the 11th generation of the Austrian family that founded the glass company in 1756. He started training with his father, Georg, at the age of 12 to learn the craft of glass blowing, and he later developed the company's successful stemless line, the O Series. Be sure to check out all the latest content on GuildSomm.com ! Join us for our Virtual Symposium on October 21 and 22. We'll have a lineup of educators discussing a range of topics, and it'll be a great opportunity to network with your peers. All are welcome for this entirely virtual event! Tickets are just $39 for GuildSomm members. Learn more and sign up . Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving us a review, as it helps us connect and grow the GuildSomm community. Cheers! Photo courtesy of Riedel Crystal traffic.libsyn.com/.../GSI_podcat_Glassware_with_Max_Riedel_10_14_2026.mp3Business-PodcastService-Podcasthttps://www.guildsomm.com/learn/study/w/study-wiki/165/spainFri, 09 Oct 2026 15:51:00 GMT8277e151-5ba9-4335-93f0-6f497ffb8dc4:e4acdcb5-c845-4bdb-9db7-3556e58b732dJonathan EichholzTable of Contents Spain North-Central Spain Green Spain: Galicia and Basque Country Castilla y León Catalonia (Catalunya) Southern Spain Spain The Phoenicians, one of the first great maritime trading cultures, founded the city of Gadir (modern Cádiz) on the coast of southern Spain around 1100 BCE and established the value of viticulture and wine as a commodity in Andalucía. The wine trade of the eastern Mediterranean owes a significant debt to Phoenician ships: the grapes they carried from the Middle East to North Africa, the Mediterranean islands and the Iberian peninsula represent the genetic ancestors of some of the modern varieties of Spain. However, while the Phoenicians may have introduced viticulture in Spain, evidence of primitive grape cultivation reaches thousands of years back in time, and wild grapes preceded mankind in the region. Winemaking continued under the Romans, who improved on the fragile, large amphorae in use, but it remained a secondary pursuit under the conquering Moors, whose religion forbade the consumption of alcohol. Still, grapegrowing persisted and was often used for raisins and distillation for medicines, perfumes, and other goods. Despite the indifference of the Moors—the sale of wine was illegal, but often tolerated—Spanish wine became renowned for its strength, and found its way as a blending component into wines from France and Italy. During this time, the Catholic church began to expand slowly as well and would soon come to reign in Spain. In 1492, Christopher Columbus and the Spanish explorers opened up a new world for Spanish trade. Wine benefitted greatly from these related occurrences: with the law’s renewed approval, Spanish wine went forth with Spanish ships to supply the nation’s new colonies, and the inherently heavy wines were often made in a deliberately rancio style, or they nonetheless arrived in the West Indies that way. Sherry wines, possibly the first vinous export to North America, became increasingly popular with the English market from the end of the 15th century onward, despite a deteriorating relationship between the two nations that culminated in the English defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The Spanish colonies presented a captive audience for Spanish wines; 17th century Spanish law barred the colonies from producing their own—a move that would impede the nascent New World wine industries and protect Spanish exports like Málaga and Sherry. However, few of Spain’s table wines were of great quality, and Spain was falling behind the rest of Europe in the development of new viticultural techniques. When oidium and phylloxera struck France in the 1850s and 1860s, an abrupt change occurred, particularly in Rioja, where a sudden influx of French winemakers and merchants sought to bridge the interruption of their own disease-ridden vineyards with Spanish wine. During this period the Bordeaux-trained Marqués de Riscal and Marqués de Murrieta returned to Rioja with grape varieties and lessons from the Médoc, including barrique aging (called barricas in Spain) and estate bottling (performed at their newly constructed bodegas ). However, a significant alteration to the Bordeaux technique of barrique aging was implemented in Rioja: the Spaniards used American oak ( Quercus alba ) rather than French—an economic decision based on Spain’s history of transatlantic colonial trade. Many of today’s great traditionalist Rioja wineries got their start in the latter half of the 19th century: López de Heredia, CVNE, La Rioja Alta, and Berceo. The second half of the 19th century also saw the birth of Spanish traditional method sparkling wine— champaña , now known as Cava—at San Sadurní d’Anoia. The ravages of phylloxera and fungal diseases did not spare Spain, and the root louse arrived in Rioja near the dawn of the 20th century. Nonetheless, Spain focused on quality, and Consejos Reguladores were established for the major regions of Rioja, Jerez, and Málaga in the 1930s. Following a bloody civil war, fascism took hold in Spain under Francisco Franco in the late 1930s, and Spain remained the only major fascist country in Western Europe after World War II—a dark period for wine that would last until the dictator’s death in 1975. The suppression of economic freedom under Franco hindered winemakers, although several advances were made. Miguel Torres brought stainless steel and temperature-controlled fermentations to Catalonia in the 1960s, and the Denominación de Origen regulations were finally approved in 1970 for Rioja. Spain responded to its new freedom after Franco with a simultaneous celebration and diversification of its unique regional cultures. Many Spanish winegrowing regions were reborn in the latter decades of the 20th century, as enthusiastic young vignerons sought to showcase their Spanish identity through modern technique, looking both forward and backward for inspiration. Today, Spain is a diverse mix of experimental, modern, and traditional winemaking techniques, and the country’s wine laws are some of the most adaptable in Europe. In Spain, Denominación de Origen (DO) and the superior Denominación de Origen Calificada (DOCa) represent the two highest tiers of quality wine, equivalent to the EU’s Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) status. The first DOs were awarded in 1932. Vinos de Calidad con Indicación Geográfica (VCIG), once considered a steppingstone to DO, is also considered DOP in the new European appellation scheme. The lowest level of quality wine, Vino de la Tierra (VdlT), falls within the EU’s Protected Geographical Indication (IGP) scheme. The DO Pago (Vinos de Pago) estates represent a theoretically superior appellation to the basic DO. An estate within an existing DO must surpass the basic DO requirements in DO Pago legislation, typically through lowered yields and other measures suggestive of quality winemaking. In order to apply for DO Pago status, an estate should show international critical praise and a decade's worth of quality production, although some young Pagos have sped through official channels with astonishing speed. Interest in Pagos is notably absent in Spain's top quality appellations, such as Rioja and Ribera del Duero, where producers have nothing to gain from distancing themselves from a well-known brand. Spanish DO wines are generally eligible for a series of aging designations, provided the below requirements are met. Despite a suggestion of quality, these terms are rapidly disappearing from labels in a new, forward-looking Spain that perceives terms like crianza and reserva as old-fashioned. With the exception of a few major regions (including Rioja and Ribera del Duero) that have adapted more stringent requirements, the following label definitions are consistent throughout Spain. Additionally, any DOP wines may use the following aging terminology: Noble: min. 18 months aging in a cask of less than 600 L or bottle Añejo: min. 24 months aging in a cask of less than 600 L or bottle Viejo: min. 36 months aging, demonstrates marked oxidative character BACK TO TOP North Central Spain North-Central Spain essentially comprises the three autonomías of Navarra, La Rioja, and Aragón. Sheltered by the Pyrenees Mountains to the northeast, which divide France and Spain, and the Cantabrian Mountains to the northwest, the region’s highlands are in a rain shadow, and summer temperatures rise further inland. The Ebro River emerges from the eastern Cantabrian Mountains, and flows on a southeasterly course toward the Mediterranean, passing through the historic Rioja DOCa , Spain’s premier red wine region. Rioja, named not after the Ebro but for the Oja, a smaller tributary, was the first region in Spain to be christened as Denominación de Origen Calificada—in 1991—and has been a viable wine-producing area for over 2000 years. Here, as in the other many of the other major winegrowing regions of Europe, Christian monks guided viticulture in the Middle Ages. The 13th century Benedictine clergyman Gonzalo de Berceo, whose name is commemorated in Berceo’s reserva and gran reserva bottlings, extolled the virtues of Rioja wine in verse. Although he penned his theological works in Latin, he preferred to write his poetry in the “vulgar vernacular” of Spanish, hoping to reach the less educated peasantry. His short verses represent the first Spanish poetry committed to paper, more than a century after the king’s legal recognition of Rioja in 1102. Further decrees protecting the wines’ regional identity were issued by the 17th century, and in the 19th century the style of Rioja wines shifted, subject to French influence. Aging in American oak barrels became a standard, and the red wines started to resemble what is now considered the classic style: soft, with muted red fruit, firm acidity and the unmistakable oak aromas coconut, vanilla and cedar. Today, however, a new spectrum of styles emerges from Rioja, as many producers are emphasizing French oak, more extraction, and riper, darker fruit. A similar dichotomy exists in the region’s white wines: some are produced in a clean, fruity, modern style, whereas others are wood-toned, oxidative and textural. Occasionally, Rioja white wines may be off-dry. Tempranillo is the main grape of red Rioja and is the most planted grape in the whole country; its traditional blending partners are Mazuelo (Carignan), Graciano, and Garnacha. Together, these four grapes (along with Maturana Tinta, authorized for Rioja in 2007) must comprise a minimum 85% of the red Rioja blend, or 95% if destemmed. “Experimental” grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon may make up the remainder. Viura—known elsewhere as Macabéo—is the dominant white grape, followed by Garnacha Blanca, Malvasía Riojano, and Maturana Blanca. Chardonnay, Tempranillo Blanco, Sauvignon Blanc, Turruntés, and Verdejo are the only other white grapes permitted in blends. Rosado wines require a minimum 25% of the four previously mentioned primary red grapes of Rioja. As in Ribera del Duero, Rioja regulations for aging red wines supersede the standard requirements. Red crianza wines require a total two years of aging prior to release, with a minimum year in oak. Red reserva wines are aged for three years, including one year in oak. Gran Reserva red wines must age for at least two years in cask and two years in bottle, with a total aging of at least 60 months. Rioja casks must be 225 liters—the size of a barrique. Rioja white wines and rosados are also eligible for these categories: crianza wines age for eighteen months, reserva wines for two years, and gran reserva wines age for four. All three categories require a minimum six months in cask. Whereas producers may age white and rosado crianza wines in a non-oxidative environment like stainless steel, reserva wines must remain in oak or bottle for the minimum period of aging. From Haro in the northwest to Alfaro in the southeast, Rioja follows the path of the Ebro through three climatically distinct subzones: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Oriental (formerly Rioja Baja.) Rioja Alavesa is the smallest, northernmost zone (it is located within Basque country) and Tempranillo here often produces vino joven wines for early consumption. Carbonic maceration may be employed for such wines. Rioja Alta is the southwestern zone, and with its slightly warmer climate the zone is capable of producing classic, ageworthy Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano. Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa share a similar soil structure, with a high proportion of calcareous clay, whereas Rioja Oriental, the hottest subregion, contains more alluvial soils and ferrous clay. Garnacha performs best in Rioja Oriental's hot climate. Many producers will source blends from all three subregions to create a base style, combining the freshness of Rioja Alavesa, the extract and alcoholic warmth of Rioja Oriental, and the acidity and structure of Rioja Alta. Others, however, prefer the typicity that results from single region and single vineyard bottlings: staunch traditionalist López de Heredia produces single vineyard wines from estate vineyards such as Bosconia and Tondonia; and Ysios—a modern winery renowned for its avant-garde architectural design—produces pure Tempranillo from its estate vineyards in the Rioja Alavesa region. Architecturally, Ysios is at the forefront of a new movement in spectacular modern bodega design sweeping through Rioja. Marqués de Riscal’s estate now includes an impressive new structure designed by Frank Gehry, famed architect of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and even de Heredia, the oldest winery in Haro, now features a sleek new visitors’ boutique designed by Zaha Hadid. Although many producers have made single vineyard bottles for decades, there was no official single vineyard category until legislation passed in 2017. As of 2018, producers may register their Viñedos Singulares and print official single vineyard names on their labels. To be a single vineyard, the vineyard's soil must be assessed, the vines must be at least 35 years old, the estate must have proof that it has been working with the vineyard for at least 10 years, and the wine must pass a tasting panel. The grapes must also be hand-harvested at a significantly lower yield than what is typically required of regional wines. Also in 2018, the Vino Espumoso de Calidad category was added for traditional method sparkling wine. To be labeled as such, the grapes must be hand-harvested, and the entire winemaking process must take place at the same facility (that is, it cannot be moved at any stage of the process). Brut Nature, Extra Brut, and Brut styles are allowed. Vino Espumoso requires a minimum of 15 months lees aging, whereas Reserva and Gran Anãda require 24 and 36 months, respectively. Gran Anãda wines must be produced with fruit harvested during a single vintage, and this date must be stated on the label. Artadi's "El Pison" vineyard in Rioja. Navarra DO is adjacent to the northern and eastern borders of Rioja, and has long been famous for rosado bottlings. Like Rioja, Navarra wines gained prominence in the Middle Ages due to clerical support, and the rosados of the region achieved recognition by the 15th century. Today, however, red wine accounts for approximately 44% of the Navarra’s production, with rosado wines representing only 30% of the region’s output. Garnacha and Tempranillo are the major red varieties. Chardonnay plantings have spiked in the last two decades, making it Navarra's most prominent white variety, but white grapes account for only about 7% of vineyard acreage. Red grapes of French origin, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir, are on the rise. Navarra contains five subzones: the higher altitude Valdizarbe, Baja Montaña and Tierra Estella in the north, Ribera Alta in the center of the zone, and Ribera Baja in the hot southern sector. As a testament to the rising quality of Navarra’s red wines, four estates earned their own DO Pago appellations: Señorío de Arínzano and Prado Irache in Tierra Estella, Bodegas Otazu in Valdizarbe, and Bolandín in Ribera Baja. The autonomía of Aragon, to the east of Rioja and Navarra, contains four DOs: Campo de Borja , Calatayud , Cariñena , and Somontano . The hot climate of Navarra’s Ribera Baja and Rioja’s Oriental (Baja) zone extends southward into the Campo de Borja DO, where Garnacha commands around two-thirds of the vineyard acreage. Red and rosado wines are produced, principally from Garnacha and Tempranillo, and white wines are based on Viura. Garnacha also dominates the vineyards of Calatayud DO and Cariñena DO to the south. Cariñena, one of Spain’s longstanding delimited zones (dating to 1932) is the ancestral home of the Carignan/Mazuelo grape, but today the grape is a secondary player in the region’s blends. Finally, the up-and-coming Somontano DO (“beneath the mountain”) lies in the foothills of the Pyrenees near Catalonia, producing wines from local grapes such as the white Alcañón and red Parraleta, as well as a larger complement of Spanish and international varieties. The region also contains two Pagos, Ayles and Urbezo. BACK TO TOP Green Spain: Galicia and Basque Country Green Spain includes the autonomía of Galicia, which borders Portugal in the northwestern corner of the country, and the autonomías of Asturias, Cantabria, and País Vasco (Basque Country) along the northern Costa Verde , or green coast. Galicia is a verdant region of lush vegetation and dense forests, riddled with rías (estuaries) and small rivers cutting through low mountain ranges. The cooler maritime climate of the region is ideal for the production of crisp, refreshing white wines, and Galicia is emerging as one of Spain’s best areas for such wines. As the nickname “Green Spain” implies, Galicia is a world removed from the popular conception of an arid Spanish landscape. Within Galicia, there are five DOs: Rías Baixas , Ribeiro , Valdeorras , Ribeira Sacra , and Monterrei . Rías Baixas DO (the “low estuaries”) borders Portugal on the coast and contains five subzones: Val do Salnés, Ribeira do Ulla, Soutomaior, O Rosal, and Condado do Tea. The white grape Albariño comprises classic wines from the region, and a wine labeled Rías Baixas Albariño will not contain any blending grapes. If the wine is instead labeled with one of the northern subzones (Val do Salnés or Ribeira do Ulla) it must contain a minimum 70% of recommended varieties: Albariño, Loureiro, Treixadura, and Caiño Blanco. The southern subzones of O Rosal and Condado do Tea vary slightly: the wines contain a minimum 70% of Albariño combined with, respectively, either Loureira or Treixadura—the favored white grapes in Portugal’s neighboring Vinho Verde—in any combination. Regardless, many of the best producers make pure varietal Albariño, sometimes subjecting the wine to malolactic fermentation and barrica aging, which is indicated on the bottle. Whether oaked or not, classic Albariño wines tend to show stone fruit and citrus flowers, with an undercurrent of minerality. Red wines are produced from grapes such as Caiño, Espadeiro and Mencía, but nearly 96% of the vineyard acreage in Rías Baixas is devoted to Albariño. With exports to England dating to the 17th century, Ribeiro DO is one of Spain’s oldest recognized wine regions, and the wines have always been popular with Spaniards. Located along the Miño River to the east of Rías Baixas, the region produces red and white wines based on Galician varieties—Treixadura is the favored white grape, gradually replacing the neutral, heavier Palomino, and Caiño is preferred for reds. A dried grape wine, Vino Tostado, is a local specialty. The “sacred bank” of Ribeira Sacra DO, named for its large concentration of churches, is located further inland and upriver. Ribeira Sacra encompasses five subregions: Amandi, Chantada, Quiroga-Bibei, Ribeiras do Sil and Ribeiras do Miño. Steeply terraced slopes recall the better-known regions of the northern Rhône—the Romans also built these terraces, some 2000 years ago. The remote region’s better red and white wines are based on Mencía, Treixadura, and Godello. Valdeorras DO is Galicia’s easternmost zone. While some pleasant red wines are produced, the region’s best wines are clean, fruit-driven, high-acid Godello whites. Monterrei, the southernmost DO in Galicia, is a small region with only a handful of wineries. Asturias and Cantabria do not produce any DO wine, but the País Vasco contains three principal DO zones: Getariako Txakolina , Bizkaiko Txakolina , and Arabako Txakolina . Wines from all three DOs may be white, red, or rosado , but the white wines, produced from the native Ondarrabi Zuri grape, are predominant. In Getariako alone, Ondarrabi Zuri (Hondarribi Zuri) accounts for 95% of vineyard acreage, with the remaining acreage planted to Ondarrabi Beltza, the preferred local red variety. The rare rosado wines, traditionally known as Ojo de Gallo, are often blends of the two grapes. The white wines, a perfect complement to oily seafood, are low in alcohol, high in lemony acidity, and retain a light effervescence. Txakoli wines should be consumed in their youth. BACK TO TOP Castilla y León Castilla y León, or Old Castile, is Spain’s largest autonomía . “The land of castles” includes a number of such fortifications built to repel the Moors in the early Middle Ages, and the dynastic union of Castilla y León and Aragon through marriage in the 15th century led to the birth of the Kingdom of Spain. Castilian Spanish was the only official dialect in Spain for two centuries prior to the ratification of the Spanish constitution in 1978. The region is generally characterized by a continental climate, slightly moderated by its proximity to the Atlantic and Mediterranean but still subject to extreme highs and lows. The terrain of Castilla y León consists of the northern part of the Meseta Central—the arid central plateau of Spain—and the mountains that encircle it. The Duero River flows westward through the center of the region and passes the DOs of Ribera del Duero , Rueda , Toro , Tierra del Vino de Zamora , and finally Arribes on its path toward Portugal. Arlanza DO is located directly north of Ribera del Duero, with Cigales DO to the west of both appellations. León DO and Bierzo DO are located in the mountainous northwestern corner of Castilla y León; Bierzo borders Valdeorras in Galicia. The Mencía grape is at home in the valleys of the Sil River and its tributaries in the Bierzo DO; it is often the dominant grape in red wines and rosé wines, and many of the region’s newer and more serious reds are solely produced from Mencía. The young Alvaro Palacios, already a marquee name in Priorat, founded Descendientes de José Palacios with his nephew Ricardo Pérez in 1999, and achieved instant recognition for Bierzo with their biodynamic “Corullón” bottlings: extracted, old-vine Mencía-based wines sourced from mountainside schist soils. The project, along with other modern trailblazers such as Dominio de Tares and Pittacum, is commanding top dollar for its wines. Whites are also produced, and while wines made from Godello and Doña Blanca show more promise, Palomino still dominates the vineyards. The León DO, upgraded from Vino de la Tierra in 2007, produces reds, whites, and rosados . Recommended red grapes include Mencía and the local Prieto Picudo. Ribera del Duero DO, which surrounds the towns of Aranda de Duero and Peñafiel in the Duero River Valley, is considered one of Spain’s top red wine-producing regions. The region’s flagship estate has long been Vega Sicilia, founded in by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves, who in 1864 planted a number of Bordeaux varieties and—curiously—a little Pinot Noir alongside Tinto del País (Tempranillo) in order to make brandy. In 1929, following an ownership change and a transition to estate-bottled table wines, new winemaker Domingo Txomin achieved international acclaim at the Barcelona World’s Fair with his 1917 and 1918 vintages of Único, Vega Sicilia’s benchmark wine. Único, blended from Tinto del País, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot and aged, often for a decade or more in American and French oak barrels, has long commanded extravagantly high prices, even as a simple vino de mesa —Ribera del Duero did not achieve DO status until 1982. Despite its mammoth influence, Vega Sicilia remained the only serious producer in the region until the 1980s, when the wines of Pesquera began achieving critical acclaim. Since the mid-1980s, however, quality, investment and interest have skyrocketed in Ribera del Duero, and the region now supports a number of cult wine estates, including Dominio de Pingus and Aalto. When Ribera del Duero received DO status, there were only 9 wineries in the region; today the number of producers is nearer to 300. Ribera del Duero produces reds as well as small amounts of whites, rosados, and claretes . Whites must contain at least 75% of the early-ripening Albillo Mayor grape. Rosados and claretes are composed of a minimum of 50% authorized red grapes for the area. Tempranillo, variously known as Tinto del País and Tinto Fino, is the region’s premier grape and enjoys a near monopoly on its vineyards; a minimum of 75% is required for its reds. Small amounts of Garnacha and international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are also cultivated. As in Rioja, the aging requirements for these categories differ slightly from the normal DO standards. Recent labeling changes allow for not only reds but also white wines, rosados , and claretes to be labeled crianza , reserva , and gran reserva . For crianza , reds must age for two years prior to release (including one year in cask). Reds labeled reserva must age for three years prior to release (including one year in cask). Gran reserva reds must age for a minimum two years in cask for a total of five years of aging altogether. Roble may be used for wines that see a minimum of three months oak aging; joven is for wines aged less than three months. Whether joven or gran reserva , however, no rule mandates that an aging classification needs to be stated on the label. (For a full list of aging requirements, refer to the Compendium .) Rueda received its DO shortly before Ribera del Duero, in 1980. The white Verdejo grape, easily prone to oxidation, was rejuvenated by Marqués de Riscal in the 1970s as a fresh, crisp counterpart to their red Rioja. Through careful handling, controlled temperatures and an anaerobic environment, Verdejo could provide delicate, aromatic wines, rather than the oxidative, sherry-style wines of the past. White wines simply labeled as Rueda now require a minimum 50% of Verdejo or Sauvignon, often blended with Viura. They may blend with Chardonnay and Viognier as well. Red wines are dominated by Tempranillo, and rosado wines contain a minimum 50% of red grapes. Espumoso , or sparkling wines, are produced in both rosado and white styles. Brut and Brut Nature Espumoso wines require a minimum 75% Verdejo or Sauvignon Blanc. The occasional dry fortified, oxidized Dorado wine is still encountered, although these wines are a dying style in a region energized by freshness, and are not often encountered outside Spain. Rueda Dorado oxidizing in glass. To the west of Rueda, Toro DO produces red, white and rosado wines, although it is the region’s red wines that have attracted the most international interest. Red wines require either a minimum of 75% Tinta de Toro or 85% Garnacha. However, they are often produced solely from Tinta de Toro, a local strain of Tempranillo, which ripens easily in the extremely hot, dry continental summers of Toro. White wines may be made with Verdejo or Malvasia along with Albillo Real and Muscat à Petit Grains, and rosados may be blends of any of these red or white grapes. Fariña and Numanthia-Termes are among the top names in the appellation, and the launching of Vega Sicilia’s Bodegas Pintia seems to cement Toro’s newfound success. Tierra del Vino de Zamora DO lies to the west of Toro, and produces red, white, rosado, and the lighter clarete (rosé) wines from similar grapes. Reds require a minimum 75% Tempranillo. Vega Sicilia’s Ribera del Duero rival Alejándro Fernández of Pesquera staked his claim in Zamora, with the founding of the Dehesa la Granja estate. Overall, Toro and Zamora can only continue to benefit from their proximity to Ribera del Duero. The river continues its westward path, flowing through Arribes DO at the border. Here, Rufete—reflecting the region’s proximity to Portugal—and several other red grapes join Tempranillo in the appellation's vineyards; white wines are produced from Malvasia, Verdejo, and Albilla. Cigales DO is located to the north of the old capital city of Valladolid, and to the northwest of Ribera del Duero. The region produces red wines made principally from Garnacha Tinta and Tinto del País (Tempranillo), but is particularly noted for its rosado and nuevo (primeur) rosado production. Arlanza DO, to the east of Cigales and directly north of Ribera del Duero, is one of Spain’s newest DOs, dating to 2007. A small core of wineries produces reds and whites from a complement of Duero Valley and Bordeaux varieties. As of 2021, Castilla y Leon received its first DO Pago, Urueña. Then it was joined by Abadía-Retuerta and Dehesa Peñalba in 2022. BACK TO TOP Catalonia (Catalunya) The autonomía of Catalonia, or Catalunya in the Catalan language, is a stone’s throw (and a trek over the Pyrenees) from Roussillon in France, a region with which it shares a common culture and lineage. Catalonia and Roussillon split in the 17th century, when the king of Spain ceded Roussillon to France, a political division that has existed to this day. Although the two regions fly a similar flag of red and yellow stripes as a reminder of an intertwined history, a shared interest in heavier, fortified and sweet red wines has ceded ground in Catalonia. Catalan wines reflect its industry, wealth, and modernization: when traditional method sparkling winemaking came to Spain, it debuted in Catalonia; when Miguel Torres introduced stainless steel fermentation to Spain in the 1960s, he introduced it in Catalonia; when René Barbier sought to create a bold new Spanish red wine in 1979, he planted his grapes in Catalonia. The region of Catalonia exemplifies the modern face of Spanish winemaking and technological innovation; however, amidst the new is a backbone of tradition and older styles—wines produced in the same fashion for generations. Priorat DOCa (DOQ in Catalan) in the southwest of Catalonia is the site of René Barbier’s project and home to some of Spain’s richest, most concentrated red wines. The second region in Spain to be promoted to DOCa, Priorat derives its name from Priorato de Scala Dei , a Carthusian monastery (priory) founded on the site of a boy’s vision of angels ascending to heaven. The region is overwhelmingly devoted to red wine production, although some white and rosado wine is produced. Garnacha and Cariñena are the traditional varieties of Priorat, struggling to achieve even small yields in the rock-strewn schist soils of the region. Llicorella , a mix of black slate and quartzite, characterizes the best vineyards, requiring vines to dig deeply for water. In 1979 Barbier, a winemaker for Alvaro Palacios, planted a mix of local and French vines in the llicorella soils of Gratallops, and convinced Palacios and several others to join him. In 1989, they cooperatively produced a first effort—a single red wine bottled under five different labels—and turned the eyes of the wine world towards Priorat. The five original “Clos” wines of Priorat, commonly acknowledged as Barbier’s Clos Mogador, Palacios' Clos Dofi, Clos Erasmus, Clos de l’Obac, and Clos Martinet, were released as vino de mesa , yet they represented a new pinnacle of quality for the region. After the 1991 vintage, the project split and the wines moved forward in separate production. Today, Clos Mogador, Alvaro Palacios, Clos Erasmus, Costers del Siurana (whose founder Carles Pastrana produced Clos de l’Obac), and Mas Martinet continue to build on their original legacy, alongside others like Vall Llach and Scala Dei. Priorat’s best red wines are usually dominated by Garnacha or blended from Spanish and French varieties, and subject to varying shades of French barrique treatment. Managing alcohol is a key factor in a warm, Mediterranean region where grapes can ripen unchecked to a potential alcohol of 18%. In 2009, Priorat established a village category (Vino de Pueblo, or Vi de Vila in Catalan) for estate-grown wines from 12 villages, including Gratallops. Schist soil at Scala Dei in Priorat. Priorat DOQ is almost entirely surrounded by the Montsant DO , a ring-shaped region that was until 2002 a subzone of Tarragona. Like Priorat, Garnacha and Cariñena are dominant, and the region seems poised to offer a value alternative as Priorat’s prices continue to rise. Tarragona DO is much larger, encompassing a swath of the Catalan coast to the west of Penedès DO. Historically, Tarragona wines were generally fortified rancio or mistela, the Spanish version of vin de liqueur . Today, much of the vineyard area has been converted to white varieties for Cava, but these old styles are still made in small quantities. Communion wines for Christian churches now represent the most substantial market for Tarragona’s wines. The Terra Alta DO is to the southwest of Tarragona and the Conca de Barberà DO is adjacent to northern Tarragona. Costers del Segre DO spans several noncontiguous subzones between Tarragona and Somontano: Pallars Jussà, Artesa de Segre, Valls del Riucorb, Segrià, Garrigues, Urgell and Raimat. Raimat, the smallest subzone, houses an estate of the same name that was integral to the formation of the zone. With far-reaching foresight, Manuel Raventós purchased arid, infertile land in the region for his Raïmat estate in 1914; over sixty years later, after a transformation of the parched land through canal construction and agricultural restoration, his estate produced its first commercial vintage. Northeast of Tarragona, along the Catalan coast, is the Penedès DO . The land rises steadily from the coast toward the inland Meseta, and Penedès is divided between three distinct altitude zones: Baix-Penedès, Medio-Penedès, and Alt-Penedès. The Alt-Penedès, one of Europe’s highest altitude winegrowing regions, is perfectly suited to cultivation of the white Parellada grape, one of the principal grapes in the Cava sparkling blend. Although Cava has its own DO, 95% of Cava is produced in the region of Penedès, and five of Cava’s authorized white grapes—Parellada, Xarel-lo, Macabéo (Macabeu), Malvasía, and Chardonnay—comprise a large majority of the Penedès vineyards. Ull de Llebre (Tempranillo) thrives in the Medio-Penedès. Sturdier Mediterranean red grapes like Garnacha (Garnatxa) and Monastrell are planted in the lower vineyards of the Baix-Penedès, producing high-alcohol red and rosado wines, which have replaced the sweet fortified reds popular in the past—and across the border in Roussillon. Although red grapes dominate in the Baix-Penedès, two producers—Vega de Ribes and the charity Hospital de Sant Joan Baptista—are perpetuating the Malvasía de Sitges variety, a historical specialty of the region nearly consigned to the dustbin of history. As a sweet fortified wine, Malvasía de Sitges recently received the coveted Slow Food “presidia” status, helping to insure its future survival as a unique product of the region. Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, the birthplace of Cava, lies in the Alt-Penedès. Here, Jose Raventós of Codorníu introduced método tradicional sparkling winemaking to Spain, in 1872. Today, Codorníu is second in size only to the competing house of Freixenet, the world’s largest producer of sparkling wines. Cava DO wines may be produced from the following grapes: Parellada, Xarel-lo, Macabeu, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Garnacha Tinta, Monastrell, Trepat, and Malvasia (Subirat). The recommended grapes Macabeu, Xarel-lo and Parellada provide the traditional blend for the wine; with new plantings and more appropriate viticultural practices they are providing better wines, deflecting past criticisms aimed at the blowsy, broad, neutral character of the wines. Cava wines require less time on the lees than Champagne at the C ava de Guarda level: nine months. For the C ava de Guarda Superior designations: eighteen months for reserva , and thirty months for gran reserva. Cava DO is the only Spanish Denominación de Origen that covers a style, rather than a region. Technically, Spain mapped and delimited the regions of Cava production in order to comply with EU regulations—the region just happened to coincide with the vineyards of many producers throughout Spain who were already making the wine. Today, the better Cava sparklers made from the traditional grapes are slightly earthy and citrus-tinged, whereas Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are better suited to lengthier lees aging and the flavors of autolysis. Bottles of Cava can always be spotted by the mark of a four-pointed star imprinted on the cork. The remaining Catalan appellations include Alella DO , to the northeast of Penedès, where Xarel-lo, known locally as Pansà Blanca, contributes to the DO’s own still dry white wines or the blends of Cava. Empordà DO is located in the northeastern corner of Spain, bordering Banyuls in Roussillon. The focus is on Cariñena rosados , although Garnacha and international varieties have also been successful. Pla de Bages —a derivative of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine—is a newer DO to the north of Penedès, with similar grapes. The Catalunya DO encompasses the entire autonomía , covering wineries not included in more specific DO zones and allowing more freedom of blending and expression from a range of sites and authorized grapes. The Balearic Islands, a chain off the coast of Catalonia, is an autonomía closely associated with Catalan culture. Two DO zones, Pla i Llevant and Binissalem Mallorca , produce wines from a range of international and indigenous grapes, including Manto Negro and Moll (Prensal Blanc). BACK TO TOP Southern Spain Wine is produced in every autonomía of Southern Spain, including Murcia and Valencia, which comprise the Levant region on the eastern coast; Castilla-La Mancha, the southern portion of the central Meseta; Madrid, the capital city; Extremadura in southwestern Spain; and Andalucía on the southern coast. Valencia , a region steeped in both Catalan and Moorish tradition, is simultaneously the name of the autonomía , its capital (and Spain’s third largest city) and a DO zone focusing on white wines produced from the local Merseguera grape and other varieties. The wines can be fairly neutral, and the region is better known for its oranges and its paella—Valencia is the birthplace of the famous Spanish rice dish. The other DO zones within the autonomía of Valencia are Alicante and Utiel-Requena . Alicante DO is known for dessert wines: a local specialty is Fondillón, a solera-style, oxidative dessert wine produced from overripe Monastrell (Mourvèdre) grapes aged for a minimum of ten years. Unlike Sherry, the famous solera wine of Andalucía, Fondillón is not fortified and it does carry the flavor of wood. Utiel-Requena DO red wines are primarily produced from the Bobal grape and doble pasta is a traditional style. Doble Pasta red wines are macerated and fermented with twice the normal amount of grape skins and pulp, resulting in a wine of intense concentration, tannin and color. Often, doble pasta wines are used to strengthen weaker blends, but this traditional role is ebbing away with the rising production of grape concentrate in Utiel-Requena. Murcia, the southern autonomía in the Levant, comprises three DO zones: Jumilla , Yecla , and Bullas . The sandy soils of Jumilla resisted phylloxera until the 1980s, nearly one hundred years after the bug entered Spain, and the resulting vineyard decimation allowed the region’s producers to refocus, pivoting away from generic bulk wine production to the cultivation of the drought-resistant, thick-skinned Monastrell. The region’s reds and rosados —white grapes perform less worthily in the desert-like climate of Jumilla—now represent some of Spain’s best values and make up over 95% of the DO’s output. Garnacha, Petit Verdot, and other grapes may be used for blending, but Monastrell alone occupies over 80% of the region’s vineyards. Monastrell vines in Jumilla. To the west of the coastal Levant appellations, La Mancha DO lies within the Castilla-La Mancha autonomía and is Europe’s largest single demarcated wine region. Windmills dot the flat plain, recalling Don Quixote, Cervantes’ delusional knight-errant, whose silhouette adorns the logo of the La Mancha DO Consejo Regulador . The principal grapes of the region are Cencibel (Tempranillo) and Airén, which thrive in La Mancha’s hot, dry environment—an inhospitable region for fungus and mold. Despite being found only in southern Spain, Airén until recently claimed more acreage than any other white grape in the world, due to vast tracts of low-density plantings in La Mancha. Today, it is the second most planted grape, after Chardonnay, and remains on the decline, with a significant amount of the vast annual harvest destined for distillation. Cencibel performs well and is highly recommended by the Consejo for replanting in La Mancha, yet some producers, as in every corner of Spain, are experimenting with international varieties. Within the Méntrida DO , the Marqués de Griñon estate planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Syrah, and Merlot and adopted the illegal practice of drip irrigation, releasing modern, concentrated wines as vino de mesa . Officials rewarded the estate’s controversial methodology and encépagement in 2003, granting Marques de Griñon an estate appellation: DO Pago Dominio de Valdepusa. The same year, the La Mancha estate of filmmaker Manuel Manzaneque received its own appellation, DO Pago Finca Élez. Other DO Pago estates followed: Guijoso in 2005, Dehesa del Carrizal in 2006, and Campo de la Guardia and Pago Florentino in 2009. Casa del Blanco and Calzadilla received DO Pago status in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Three additions were approved in 2019: DO Pagos Vallegarcía, La Jaraba, and Los Cerrillos. in 2024, Rosalejo became the newest addition to DO Pago status in the area. The Castilla-La Mancha pagos all implement an international blend, in the pursuit of wines of “expression.” Marqués de Griñon, founded in 1973, has the longest history of any of these pagos . The estate has enlisted both the Pomerol guru Michel Rolland and his mentor, Émile Peynaud, in its quest to quickly position itself at the top of Spain’s quality ladder. This approach—incorporating money and modern methodology in the quick pursuit of concentration, greatness, and expression, rather than the timeworn, terroir-driven methods of the Old World—is common among DO Pago proprietors, perhaps quixotically. Like Méntrida, Almansa DO was once administered by La Mancha's Consejo Regulador . For Almansa reds, producers rely principally on the Garnacha Tintorera grape, a teinturier characterized by red-pigmented juice. Manchuela DO is to the north of Almansa, bridging the Levant and La Mancha. As in Utiel-Requena, Bobal is the chief grape. Ribera del Júcar DO is located between Manchuela and La Mancha, and was a subzone of the latter until it received its own DO status in 2003. Valdepeñas DO —the “valley of rocks”—is surrounded by La Mancha, yet the region received formal recognition in 1932, over forty years earlier than its much larger neighbor. Here, too, Airén is the most planted grape, followed by Cencibel. Although the climate of the two regions is quite similar, the vines in Valdepeñas benefit from a higher concentration of chalk bedrock, which provides better retention of water in the arid environment. Reserva and gran reserva wines, often produced exclusively from Cencibel, can be of excellent quality—particularly those sourced from the western sector of Los Llanos and the northern sector of Las Aberturas . To the northeast of La Mancha, the newer Uclés DO is off to a promising start, focusing on the red varieties Cencibel, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah. White wines, sparkling wines, and sweet, dulce wines are also produced. The DO requires vines bearing red grapes to be in their sixth year of age before the fruit may be harvested, and mature vines are divided into three age categories; maximum yields decrease with the vine’s age. North of La Mancha, Mondéjar DO permits wines of all three colors from Cencibel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Macabéo, and the white Malvar grape. To the west of the zone is Vinos de Madrid DO , an appellation for the wines produced in four areas—San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Navalcarnero, Arganda, and el Molar—comprising three noncontiguous zones around the capital city. Airén, Malvar, Tinto Fino, and Negra de Madrid (Garnacha) are widely planted in the appellation; most of the wines are consumed within the city itself. To the southwest of Madrid and Méntrida, in the Extremadura autonomía , is the sole DO of Ribera del Guadiana . The large DO contains six subzones: Ribera Alta de Guadiana, Ribera Baja de Guadiana, Matanegra, Cañamero, Montánchez, and the superior Tierra de Barros. Although some good value wine is produced, much of the region’s large harvest ends up in the copper stills of Jerez, and the region is overall better known for its contributions to gastronomy: jamón serrano and the prohibitively expensive jamón ibérico . Tierra de Barros, which encompasses nearly 80% of the DO, is the home of Bodegas Inviosa, a longstanding and key proponent of the region’s wines—and the only producer of Cava in southwestern Spain. Spanning Spain’s southern coastline, Andalucía includes the DO zones of Grenada , Málaga , Sierras de Málaga , Montilla-Moriles , Condado de Huelva , Jerez-Xérès-Sherry , and Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda . This is the Spain of bullfighting, of flamenco, of authentic gazpacho—the stereotypes of Andalucían culture that often serve to characterize all of Spain. The Strait of Gibraltar bridges Africa and Europe: it represents a historically important trading route and may have even been the route by which man first crossed into Europe. Before the Moorish conquest of 711, the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, and even the Byzantines exerted control over the region, to varying degrees of success. It was the Moors, however, who transformed Andalucía, or Al-Andalus, into a hub of Mediterranean trade, learning and culture. The city of Jerez de la Frontera was known as “Sherish” in Arabic—key to a successfully prosecuted case in more recent times contesting British use of the term Sherry. The Moorish culture persisted longest here, until the fall of Granada in 1492 ended Moorish rule on the Iberian Peninsula. Eight months later, Columbus set sail from Andalucía to find his ocean route to the East Indies. This event, sparking the race for colonial power and discovery in the Americas, was to have a profound effect on the future of Spanish wine—particularly the fortified wines of Andalucía and the Canary Islands, which, along with Porto and Madeira, supplied the New World. Ferdinand Magellan, who led the first circumnavigation of the globe in 1519, spent more of his budget on sherry than weapons. The wines of Jerez, known to English-speakers as "sack," also found a market in England, France, and Flanders. A singular plunder of nearly 3000 barrels of “sherris sack” in 1587 by the English Admiral Frances Drake cinched English tastes for the wine—a preemptive strike against Cádiz and the king’s armada, which sailed unsuccessfully against England in the following year. Sherry became an incredibly popular export to Great Britain in the ensuing three centuries; Samuel Pepys, who famously extolled the virtues of “Ho-Bryan,” also visited Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and Shakespeare regularly cited the wine in his works. High demand led to increased supply, and the Jerez bodegas began to purchase wine stocks from more distant areas of Andalucía, such as Condado de Huelva and Montilla-Moriles, to fill their soleras. British firms—Osbourne, Garvey, John Harvey (now Domecq)—arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries to found bodegas. Sherry was in worldwide demand by the late 1800s, but the arrival of phylloxera in 1894, coupled with a rise in production of “Sherry” styles throughout Europe, curtailed the industry. With the establishment of a Jerez Consejo Regulador and the attainment of DO status in 1933, Sherry rebounded. By 1979, Jerez was exporting 200 million bottles a year. Unfortunately, much of the wine was cheap and of questionable quality, and Jerez suffered considerably as a result. Today, efforts to reduce vineyard acreage and increase quality overall have largely been successful, and Sherry is the product of one of the world of wine’s most laborious, artisan processes, often for a very good price. There are two DO zones today, sharing the same vineyards and Consejo Regulador : Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Three towns—Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa Maria—form a “golden triangle” that is the historic area of production. The three authorized grapes are, in descending order of importance, Palomino, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel. Palomino, or Listán, produces characterless table wines but is the preferred variety for dry Sherry. It thrives in the white albariza soils of the region, which characterize the best pagos , or vineyards. The lower-lying vineyards usually contain more barros (clay), whereas coastal vineyards are characterized by sandy soils called arenas , and are principally suitable for Moscatel grapes. For more information on the production and styles of Sherry, click here . Montilla-Moriles DO, to the northeast of Jerez, lent its name to the style of Amontillado , although it is legally barred from using the term Sherry on its labels. Pedro Ximénez (PX) is the zone’s principal grape, and Jerez has received dispensation to import PX must from Montilla-Moriles to compensate for its own declining acreage of the grape. Wines in the style of Sherry—Fino, Oloroso, and Amontillado—are produced in both fortified and unfortified versions. As the PX grape ripens extremely well in Montilla-Moriles’ hot climate, the wines can naturally ferment to 15.5% alcohol—the ideal strength for flor to survive and the post-fortification strength of Fino sherry. Thus, typically only Olorosos and dessert styles are fortified. The coastal Málaga DO is directly south of Montilla-Moriles. Once a prosperous wine region, both in its own right and as a supplier to the Jerez soleras, Málaga suffers from lowered international interest in both fortified and sweet wines—the specialties of the zone. Moscatel and PX grapes are the region’s principal grapes. Classically, the grapes are dried for a period of up to 20 days on esparto grass mats (a process known as the soleo ) prior to fermentation. Today, the wines of Málaga are either naturally sweet wines—produced either from soleo or simply overripe grapes—or fortified sweet wines. The fortified wines either retain natural sweetness, or the winemaker restores it through the addition of arrope . The fortified wines undergo solera aging in American oak. Five age categories exist for Málaga: Málaga Pálido (no aging requirement), Málaga (at least six months in oak), Málaga Noble (two to three years), Málaga Añejo (three to five years), and Málaga Trasañejo (minimum five years). Table wines from the region are released under the Sierras de Málaga DO. Off the coast of Africa, the Canary Islands lie nearly 700 miles from the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is of volcanic origin and has a sub-tropical climate. Nonetheless, wine is produced on most of the inhabited islands, and there are ten DO zones. Five are located on the island of Tenerife; the other five each cover a whole island: La Palma, El Hierro, Gran Canaria, La Gomera and Lanzarote. Phylloxera reached the Canaries in 2025, and century-old vines are still not an uncommon sight. Red wines are usually produced from Listán Negro, Negramoll (Tinta Negra), Malvasía Rosada, and Listán Prieto (Mission), whereas whites may result from a larger combination of grapes, including Malvasía, Gual, Forastera Blanca, Moscatel, and Listán Blanco (Palomino). The fortified wines of the past have ceded ground to the fresh vino joven styles popular with the islands’ tourists. BACK TO TOPPreview